The reunited and rambunctious musical trio provide proper, from-the-gut, I-can’t-believe-they-just-said-that laughs ★★★★
Dominic Maxwell, The Times
Outrageous it may be, but it’s cathartic to be given license to laugh at the taboo… packed full of raw belly laughs ★★★★★
Steve Bennett, Chortle
Following a triumphant reunion in the UK last year, selling out runs at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Soho Theatre, scooping the Spirit of the Fringe award and receiving widespread critical acclaim, Australia’s most controversial export Doug Anthony All Stars (DAAS) return to Edinburgh to perform a brand new show, Near Death Experience at the Pleasance Forth at 10pm from the 2nd -27th August. Fresh off the Fringe, the trio comprising of Tim Ferguson, Paul McDermott and Paul ‘Flacco’ Livingston, will take to the stage in London one-time only at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire on 1st September.
Edinburgh Festival tickets are on sale now. Shepherd’s Bush Empire tickets go on general sale on Friday but are available via presale tomorrow, Wednesday 24th May.
After abruptly disbanding in 1994 (the catalyst for the split which arguably spurred their reformation was Tim Ferguson’s multiple sclerosis, a condition that now requires him to use a wheelchair) DAAS have almost a century of comedic experience combined. Wracked by illness and age, the boys have no time to waste and their second coming is set to be more wicked and dangerous than ever complete with new filthy faux pas, spirited songs and socio-political commentary.
Following busking on the streets of Canberra, DAAS’ riotous career launched at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1987. The subsequent year saw the boys pick up a Perrier Edinburgh Festival Best Show Comedy Award nomination and they were soon playing venues ranging from West End theatres to rock halls and Irish pubs where the crowds bathed naked (literally) in mob-rule chaos. Still virtually unknown in Australia, the trio broke here in 1989 with their own ABC comedy series DAAS Kapital, which was hastily banned in Japan and Germany and outraged viewers globally. After two series of DAAS Kapital’s moral mayhem and sell-out tours, the group relocated to New York/London and went on to attack Canada, America and Europe which included a notorious performance at the Barcelona Olympics Festival where their song about dogs was met with a stony silence by the 12,000 attendees. During their reign DAAS flooded airwaves internationally, making regular appearances on award winning BBC, ITV, Ch4, HBO, NBC and ABC television shows.
After the group dispersed in 1994, they performed a one-off show to launch their DAAS Kapital DVD in 2013 and have since had electrifying sell out tours in Australia, indoctrinating a whole new generation to the cult of DAAS.
During the hiatus, DAAS embarked on a multitude of ventures including McDermott hosting ABC’s Australian satirical news show Good News Week, Ferguson penning autobiography Carry a Big Stick about life with MS and touring a live adaption around the world and original guitarist Richard Fidler presenting on ABC Radio which he continues to do today. Comedian and writer Paul ‘Flacco’ Livingston is a regular face on television screens (predominantly on the ABC network) and replaced Fidler in 2014. In 2016 Livingston published D.A.A.S.: Their Part in My Downfall, a no-holds-barred account of their reunion.
What The Press Said At 2016’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe
An unholy trinity of musical mavericks… the show is a riotous triumph ★★★★ Mark Wareham, Mail On Sunday
DAAS can take pride in having produced a return with as much as life in it as the offerings from their halcyon days ★★★★ Brian Donaldson, The List
(They) are as crass as any of today’s young taboo breakers, but offer genuine shocks by refusing to hide behind irony. They make no attempt to justify or intellectualise their humour, and are all the funnier for it … radical and dangerous ★★★★Lewis Porteous, Fest
A triumph of humour over adversity ★★★★ Broadway Baby
This show had tears of laughter running down faces all across the venue… the group has retained its dark-as-hell humour, its comic timing, and ability to send themselves up… a breath of wonderfully filthy air on an otherwise dull day★★★★ The British Theatre Guide
★★★★ Edinburgh Festivals Magazine
Political correctness flies out the window in this gloriously rude, crude show that’s filled with crazy irreverence that is above all absolutely hilarious ★★★★★ Edinburgh Guide
LISTINGS INFORMATION
DOUG ANTHONY ALL STARS – NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCE
Venue: Pleasance Forth | Dates: 2nd-27th Aug | Days Off: 7, 8, 14, 15, 21, 22nd Aug | Time: 10pm | www.cheekymonkeycomedy.com
Venue: Shepherd’s Bush Empire: 1st Sep | Time: 8pm
For more information and press tickets, please contact: Victoria Wedderburn: victoriaw@avalonuk.com | 07557160139
