![\"Karl](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/a4f8ff87c18a5cd77f68e2e5bec557af09704ee24d7ae5e480221fbe9f8c0dfa.png\")
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n Save this article for later<\/p>\n Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime.<\/p>\n Got it<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n When David Quirk performed a small segment of his show Porepunkah at the Melbourne Comedy Festival Gala two weeks ago, he was grappling with the harsh reality of the news cycle: it moves on, quickly.<\/p>\n \u201cI am originally from a little place called Porepunkah,\u201d he told the audience at St Kilda\u2019s Palais Theatre. \u201cDoes that ring any bells, folks? August last year, yeah? Do the words \u2018Dezi Freeman\u2019 help in any way?\u201d<\/p>\n The set-up, he conceded, was \u201cthe most factual and least funny opening line of anyone\u2019s Gala set tonight\u201d. But the payoff was good, if rather solipsistic in the way of much stand-up material.<\/p>\n \u201cI was really surprised the toll it took on me,\u201d said Quirk. \u201cBecause until the 26th of August last year, I was the most famous person from Porepunkah. And Dezi Freeman has stripped me of that title, you know. Awful.\u201d<\/p>\n But the news cycle has moved on yet again. And thanks to Monday\u2019s events, in which sovereign citizen and police killer Freeman was shot dead by police<\/a> after seven months on the run, Quirk won\u2019t have to remind anybody who he is, or what the name Porepunkah refers to for a good while.<\/p>\n The thing is, that has presented him with a whole other problem: his topical material had become instantly dated.<\/p>\n \u201cFor the past five-and-a-bit months, whenever I\u2019ve told people I was writing a show about Porepunkah, I\u2019d been asked, \u2018But what if they find him before your show happens, what are you going to do?\u2019 And I had no answer for that,\u201d Quirk says.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought, \u2018I\u2019ll worry about that when it happens, and it\u2019s probably not gonna happen\u2019. And then Monday morning, eight days until my opening night \u2026 what sort of cosmic madness is this?\u201d<\/p>\n Quirk has been doing stand-up for around 25 years. He fell into it while studying acting at Victoria University in Footscray, when a teacher suggested he perform a piece he had written as a comedy routine. The class laughed, he thought, \u201cthis is incredible\u201d, and his direction was set.<\/p>\n He still acts, though, and considers his work to be more narrative-based than out-and-out stand-up.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Though it began in response to Freeman\u2019s actions, Porepunkah is a deeply personal work, one that was transformed again by a return to his hometown in early January after what he describes as \u201csome terribly bad life choices\u201d in Melbourne.<\/p>\n \u201cI had to exile myself to Porepunkah,\u201d Quirk says. \u201cI thought, where is the one place I can \u2013 sort of ironically \u2013 be on the run. And before I knew it, I was down and out, so I picked up work with old high school friends who are painters, and I went into a routine for the next two or more months, painting on Mount Hotham and Buffalo.\u201d<\/p>\n He\u2019d paint by day and write by night. \u201cI would go home and jump in the river and wash myself of the sins of the painter. And then I would go to a park in Bright and write for at least a few hours.\u201d<\/p>\n When he performed at the Gala two weeks ago, Quirk still hadn\u2019t finished writing his show. When he went to bed on Sunday night, he was still tinkering with the ending.<\/p>\n Monday changed all that. \u201cAll of a sudden I had to go, \u2018Let\u2019s leave how this show ends for a moment\u2019. I rewrote the start twice that day.\u201d Now, he says, \u201cI\u2019m satisfied with the end.\u201d<\/p>\n He\u2019s got way too much material, but he vows to have a workable script just as soon as he\u2019s finished talking with me. \u201cAnd then begins the learning.\u201d<\/p>\n Related Article A week ago, Porepunkah was just one more show among the 800 or so punters can choose from at the mammoth event that is the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Monday\u2019s events have changed that. As Quirk acknowledges, \u201cthey both don\u2019t help and absolutely help\u201d.<\/p>\n For those who come along, what does he hope to deliver?<\/p>\n \u201cI hope it\u2019s good, I hope it\u2019s valid, I hope it\u2019s funny and sort of does something to the audience,\u201d Quirk says. \u201cAnd I hope I remember it.\u201d<\/p>\n The Age is a Comedy Festival partner<\/p>\n In need of some good news? Sign up for our Greater Good newsletter<\/a> for stories to brighten your outlook, delivered every Wednesday. <\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n![\"What](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/015a092d6a6bb0eebf20a435b0f1764f302f244a.jpeg\")
What do I do now?: Comedian David Quirk has had to rethink and rework his show after the death of Dezi Freeman on Monday.Eddie Jim<\/p>\n![\"\u2018I](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/9fb1352f22a0f8090643c9b82d1753ccc4abae46.jpeg\")
\u2018I hope it\u2019s funny\u2019. Quirk hopes to soon have a workable script after rewriting his show.Eddie Jim<\/p>\n![\"Lara](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/aeeea3593ee8df9e714d70589e7402598380907c.jpeg\")
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