Rod Quantock

2015 Order of Australia Medal

“A gloriously shambling style, punctuated by sudden gags and proposals of Swiftian excess... He is the archetypal wise fool adrift in a dark & dangerous world.”
- The Australian

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Rod Quantock Interview by Tommy Little

Rod Quantock is one of the reasons that Melbourne is the live comedy capital of Australia. As a pioneer of stand-up comedy, Rod has more than fifty years’ experience working in cabaret, theatre, television and radio.

Rod is known first and foremost as a very funny man, but his reach extends beyond comedy into political and social activism. A passionate environmental activist and advocate for social justice, he lobs Molotov cocktails of mirth at the most serious of subjects. When you see Rod Quantock in action, you can be sure he’ll be talking about something of substance; he just may be holding a rubber chicken.

The truly remarkable thing about Rod is that for that time he has remained a contemporary stand-up comedian, evolving and staying at the forefront of the craft. His contribution was rewarded when he received the 2004 Sydney Myer Performing Arts Award, putting him in the company of such arts luminaries as Robyn Nevin, Nick Enright & Paul Grabowsky.

In 2015 Rod was recognized with an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for his service to the performing arts, and to conservation and sustainability. He has also received an Honorary Associate Fellowship at the Institute of Sustainability at Melbourne University for his contribution to the environmental debate in this country. His career and contribution are unparalleled.

To celebrate Rod’s 50th year of performing stand-up, he returned with a brand-new show Happy Birthday to Me at the Arts Centre as part of the 2018 Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

Live Shows
Television
Corporate
Awards
Other

2018 – Happy Birthday To Me
Melbourne International Comedy Festival

2016-18 – The Last Tim Tam
Melbourne

2015 – Drivetime with Two Leggy Redheads – Rod Quantock & Fiona Scott Norman
Melbourne International Comedy Festival

2014 – Invitation to a Revolution
Melbourne Fringe Festival

2014 – Peak-A-Boo
Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Canberra Comedy Festival

2013 – Rod Quantock: Forty Five and Counting
The Athenaeum Theatre Melbourne

2013 – Rod Quantock’s Fourth Annual Mystery Comedy Walking Tour
Melbourne International Comedy Festival

2012 – Rod Quantock’s Annual Mystery Walking Tour
Melbourne International Comedy Festival

2011 – The Insane Asylum (You’re Standing In it)
Melbourne International Comedy Festival

2011 – The History of the Melbourne Comedy Festival, A Walking Tour
Melbourne International Comedy Festival

2011 – Court in the Act
Melbourne

2010 – The People We Should Eat First (And How To Cook Them)
Melbourne International Comedy Festival

**Rod has also toured his stand-up show, Bugger The Polar Bears, This is Serious to dozens of regional venues and sustainable living festivals across the country.

You can download a full list of Live Show credits below

2006 – ABC TV: Enough Rope with Andrew Denton (Interview)

2006 – SBS: Insight (Guest Appearance)

2006 – Comedy Channel: Stand Up! Australia (Stand Up Appearance)

2005 – ABC TV: Talking Heads (Interview)

2004 – Comedy Channel: Stand Up! Australia (Stand Up Appearance)

2003 – Ten Network: GNW Debate (Adjudicator)

2002 – Ten Network: GNW Debate (Adjudicator)

2001 – ABC TV: The Glass House (Development Consultant)

2001 – Ten Network: GNW Debate (Debater)

2001 – ABC TV: The Peoplescape Concert Celebrating the Centenary of Australian Federation (Solo Sketch Appearances x 2)

1999–2000 – ABC TV: Backberner (Head Writer)

2000 – ABC TV: One Size Fits All (Producer & Writer)

You can download a full list of Television credits below

Various clients such as: AMP, the Australian Bicentennial Authority, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, the Department of Premier & Cabinet (Victoria), IBM, Kraft Foods, NAB, Privacy Victoria & Red Tulip Chocolates to name just a few.

2015: Order of Australia Medal (OAM)

2004: Winner of the Sydney Myer Performing Arts Award (Individual Award).

2003: Nominated for the Barry Award for the best show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival

1997: Winner of the Green Room Award for Best Fringe Performance for Sunrise Boulevard. This is the first time a comedian has won this prestigious award

1999: Nominated for the Campus Activities Victoria Best Comedy Act Award

Rod has been a founding member on the Melbourne International Comedy Festival board, a consultant to the Melbourne Moomba Festival and a member of the Arts Committee of the Bicentennial BHP Awards For Excellence

Rod opened and operated The Comedy Café & Banana Lounge along with comedy cohorts Mary Kenneally, Geoff Brooks & Stephen Blackburn

Rod wrote a column for The Sunday Age between 1989 and 1994. Lothian Books published a compilation of these columns in 1999 called Double Dissolution

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