Comic tour healthy for the Heart

The Margaret River Heart is rapidly turning into comedy central as yet another famous Aussie comic adds a South West stopover to his national tour.

Northern Irish-born Australian mainstay Jimeoin sticks his head in to say hello on June 17 and tickets are on sale.

A familiar face to Australian TV audiences during the past decades, Jimeoin is recognised as a master of stand-up comedy, and often more abstract and edgy than his on-screen persona.

Prior to COVID-19, Jimeoin said he never planned a career in stand-up, but since he began, he could not imagine doing anything else.

“It just happened by default and then it just sort of became a thing and then I got paid to do it and it became a job,” he said.

“I have a good time doing it and I want to try and get away with doing it for a little bit longer.”

With Ben Elton a previous hit with a two-night sold-out run, and Ross Noble coming up soon, Jimeoin is part of a mix that includes the Melbourne International Comedy Festival roadshow on May 28. Heart general manager Nicky Hanson said the redeveloped venue was gaining strong interest from regional tours. “Across Australia, in live venues, there is such a thing as the ‘big three’ – children’s shows, live music, and comedy,” she said. “The Margaret River Heart line-up is currently reflecting that.”

Despite a steep increase in costs for ratepayers since the Cultural Centre was redeveloped and the Shire of Augusta- Margaret River took over management from Arts Margaret River, pandemic programming is seeing a continued uptick in trade.

The venue hosted 33 events in March and 50 more were planned for April and May. Ms Hanson said 18,000 people had visited the Heart during the past 12 months.

“We’ve enjoyed a real mix of community activations, live performance, music, comedy, children’s theatre, musicals, meetings, conferences and workshops,” she said.

Tickets to Jimeoin’s Turn It Up show are $59 for adults, with concessions and group bookings available. Visit www.margaret riverheart.com.au.