Maths comic shares formula

Derek Goforth had always dreamed of being a comedian.

Performing has always been one of his passions, having been involved in theatre since he was 10 years old.

When Goforth and his family moved to Geraldton in 2013, it wasn’t long before he was a member of Theatre 8.

His opportunity to try stand-up comedy finally came knocking at Theatre 8’s Christmas production in 2015.

“Julian Canny (from The Comedy Emporium) came to see the show and I was overhearing a conversation about a workshop that was coming up,” Goforth said.

“I thought ‘what the hell’ and just turned up to one. They workshopped a couple of basic ideas, and I was performing that Friday.

“I’m incredibly, soppily grateful to Julian. I literally could not do it without him and The Comedy Emporium.

“What they’ve done, committing their time, effort and money to it, is really admirable.”

With a comedy style that goes against the grain, you won’t hear Goforth swear or make vulgar jokes.

Focusing on his own personal experiences, Goforth shares stories about his life as a father, husband and teacher, lightly embellishing to add to the laughter. Goforth’s also not the kind of comedian to pick on people in the front row. Instead he’s become known for cracking jokes about himself.

“I’m quite self-depreciating. My first joke is always a fat joke at my expense,” he said.

“A lot of comedians say to ‘just base your set on something you know’. So even if you get lost, you always go back to the truth.

“Some really famous comedians just do one-liners but to me that’s like learning a script, and it takes me years to learn a script.”

While his hilarious anecdotes have the crowd in stitches, Goforth also brings his sense of humour to the classroom.

Working as a maths teacher at John Willcock College, the funnyman tries to engage with his students through comedy.

“Maths is a really dry subject,” he admits.

“But if you’re willing to be a bit creative with it, you can get fun with Pythagoras’ theorem.

“The kids enjoy my subject because ‘Mr G is funny’. I treat doing stand-up pretty much the same as I treat being in front of 30 kids.”

The father-of-three will be sharing more stories at Funtavia next month with his show The Hungry Games: An Idiot’s Guide to Parenting. Described as “half quiz show, half infomercial and half musical extravaganza”, will be on at the Cargo Hold on February 10-11.

For tickets, visit funtavia.com.