He may be best known as triple J Breakfast co-host but it's on stage that comedian Matt Okine's wit and humanity shine brightest.
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Recipient of the prestigious 2015 Melbourne International Comedy Festival – Director's Choice Award, Okine is bringing his new show, The Other Guy, to Canberra next week.
The show is based on Okine's recent split from his girlfriend of nine years. Okine says the pair went on a holiday not long after they broke up. He admits it was "probably not the most highly recommended thing to do".
"Unfortunately, about a month after we came back from holidays she gave me a call and said, 'Look, I've been sweating a lot at night, my smell is really sensitive, my boobs are sensitive, I'm really late, I think I might be pregnant,' " Okine says.
"So she came over to my place, we sat in my bathroom and did a pregnancy test. It takes three to 10 minutes for the results to come through and trust me, a lot of shit goes down in that three to 10 minutes (laughs).
"The show sums up all the thoughts and feelings and memories and conversations that happened in those three to 10 minutes."
Had Okine booked the holiday before the pair broke up? "Man, you know what discount airlines are like these days. You don't have anything planned. All of a sudden you look at the website and it's like, '$6.50 flights? F---in' get the coin jar!' So we'd booked it months beforehand."
Like revered US comedian Dave Chappelle (who Okine supported on his Australia tour last year), Okine's stand-up comedy combines observations on the absurdity of everyday life with serious social commentary.
One minute, Okine is talking about the fact he wishes he was rich enough to not care what colour the plates are at Sushi Train. The next, he's comparing the Australian public health system to that of Ghana where his aunty died from a broken ankle (Okine is half-Ghanaian).
"My very first show I was talking about my mum dying when I was 12 years old and me walking into the hospital and her body being there," he says. "That sort of stuff is not necessarily easy to make hilarious cracks about. But I like talking about the human condition and the ups and downs of life in a way that people can relate to. That's my job as a comedian.
"Some people are really good at focusing on politics but that's just not me, I'm not a political person. I'll stick to making jokes about vacuum cleaners."
This last comment is surprising given Okine's sketches touch on issues of middle-class entitlement, wealth distribution, fairness and equity. The effectiveness of Okine's material lies in its subtlety.
"I guess I'm not someone to stand on the stage and go, f--- the government, how f---ed is… whatever. I'm more inclined to say, this is the world we live in and we're all affected by certain parts of it."
Having performed The Other Guy at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival for some 30 days straight earlier this year (and sometimes twice a night), Okine is looking forward to bringing the show to Canberra.
"That's why when I get to come to Canberra the show is red hot," he says. "I've done it so many times it's in my blood. I can give you guys the best show possible."
Matt Okine
When: November 7, 8pm.
Where: The Street Theatre, Acton
Tickets: $35 from thestreet.org.au
