Walking into a packed Enmore Theatre in Sydney, to watch Nick Giannopoulos and Mary Coustas perform their new show with Sooshi Mango, I had mixed feelings.
In recent times . There are even claims of because of the way some of the characters of Wogs out of Work have been depicted.
So, I wondered if in 2018 these sorts of comedic/wog stereotypes still had a place in Australian comedy. But most importantly would this be funny high ‘monobrow’ humour?
Like many Greek-Australians who grew up in the 80s and early 90s I revelled in the humour of the smash hit theatre show Wogs out of Work and subsequent hit TV show Acropolis Now.
Seeing the show’s original cast Giannopoulos, Coustas, George Kapiniaris and Simon Palomares dress up in characters that looked and sounded like me and my parents was thrilling.
They articulated that in-between space of not being quite Greek or Australian and reflected how society was changing from an Anglo monoculture to a multicultural one.
It also provided a safe place for ethnics to laugh at themselves and laugh at the mindlessness of being called a wog. For many who were racially abused, reclaiming that slur was very powerful.
I grew out my Greek mullet and played rugby league instead of soccer. I listened to grunge instead of dance music.
However, as I got older I rebelled against my Greek culture as a way of fitting into mainstream Australian society. As a young adult I didn’t want to sound or look like Jim or Effie so I distanced myself from the stereotypes that I had celebrated and laughed.
I grew out my Greek mullet and played rugby league instead of soccer. I listened to grunge instead of dance music. Then in my 20s I moved out of home before I got married, had non-Greek girlfriends, and lived overseas for two years. I shed my wog-boy skin and did my best to be a dinky-di Aussie.
Many of the jokes were very familiar, feeling like I was eating my mum’s home-made pasticcio – and it was comforting.
But despite my best attempts to lose my Greekness, Star Wogs made me feel a little nostalgic. It was like a coming home of sorts. While my comedy taste has changed dramatically since the 80s and 90s, many of the jokes were very familiar, feeling like I was eating my mum’s home-made pasticcio – and it was comforting.
I especially liked Giannopoulos’ joke about how Greeks think they invented everything including the internet - because every time you reply to an email the first thing that comes up on the subject line is the word ‘re’. That joke brought the house down. (If you know Greek people, ‘re’ is the word for 'mate'.)
Giannopoulos’ opening monologue also touched on how today many find the use of the word wog offensive. He spoke about how in 1988 the Sydney Opera House Trust wanted him to take down a large billboard that stood outside the iconic venue advertising Wogs out of Work and to find another theatre. His reply was: ‘a wog designed the Opera House and I’m pretty sure wogs built it so why can’t wogs play there?’
Again, that joke killed - especially after Giannopoulos revealed that Wogs out of Work played at the Opera House for another three months and ran for three years around Australia.
So, for me this comedy still has a place in today’s Australia, although it may not be to everyone’s taste (then again which type of comedy is?). It made me reflect on the sacrifices my parents made and how lucky I am to grow up here. Greeks in Australia continue to contribute in every field from the arts to business, sports and politics.
Today we see many of the various ethnicities in our culture demand diversity on our TV and film screens. What this show represents is the roots of multiculturalism’s success and how it opened doors for other cultures to tell their own stories - and that should be celebrated.
