He’s a skateboarding, vegan, comedian. David Quirk is an artist who students have admired for many years. Described as having a ‘hyper personal desire towards inner expression’ by a peer in my Philosophy class, David Quirk is in a different paradigm of comedic thought entirely. His ability to manifest visceral crowd reactions, is extraordinary.

We hit it off straight away – having both grown up in regional Victoria with fathers who worked for the council. The start of the interview quickly becomes an opportunity to see how connected in thought our fathers are, “Yes, and welcome to Daddy helpline,” David breathes into the mic. I can’t help but admire David’s easy going comedy – often he seems blissfully unaware of his own hilarity as if the universe cannot help but tilt him towards inducing laughter in others.

We talk about the weird way David entered stand up. Completing a now defunct creative arts degree, which he says, “changed my entire way of thinking,” David was prompted by a lecturer to present his assignment in the form of a stand-up routine. Comedy has seen David perform shows in skateboard shops and act in big name TV shows such as Please Like Me, and the upcoming series filmed on campus, Ronny Chieng: International Student.

David’s show at this year’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Cowboy Mouth, is a must see for those who want something out of the norm of traditional stand up. David plays with the nature of the comedic form itself, allowing him to manifest incredibly novel material. David explains to me how his show name comes from the notion in the back of his head, “That there’s a cowboy sitting there, do you ever have that?” I am nearly on the floor laughing as David flows and dips into different dimensions of comedic prowess. Part of the show’s narrative follows four people who had four different dreams about David Quirk, and all contacted him via Facebook messenger. The details of the dreams are fantastically funny, and dabble in an almost surrealist narrative arc.

After the interview finishes, we chat casually for the next fifteen minutes. Out of all the comedians I’ve interviewed in the last few months, Quirky, more than most, seems to possess an inherent desire to produce not just stand-up comedy, but an artistic expression of the human soul itself.  His comedy is thought provoking in a subtle, but hilarious way. You piss yourself laughing, only to be hit by an existential thought you never knew was dwelling deep inside your cranium. David Quirk’s show Cowboy Mouth is a must see for anyone seeking a thought provoking dive into the depths of a philosophical hour of comedic exploration. I’m almost entirely sure, in response to this grandiose description, David would reply with, “I just tell jokes, mate.” Only making him more intriguing and loveable.

David Quirk’s show, Cowboy Mouth, runs throughout the entire Melbourne International Comedy Festival. You can but tickets at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival website.