Have the times when members of the audience walked out of a gig by comedian Luke Heggie ever made him change his performance?
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"Absolutely not," he said.
"I have gotten comments online and over email - it's always something to look forward to.
"I used to open them up and have a look, but just for entertainment purposes, not for changing anything."
Known for his no-nonsense one liners delivered in a dry, dead pan manner, he loves the comedy scene in his home base of Sydney saying he could go out every night to do a gig.
Also, no-one has ever walked out of one of the 44-year-old's gigs in the state's capital city, but the same cannot be said for Melbourne.
"Audiences are a bit different, they're a little bit soft down there. They'll hate me saying that," he laughed.
He is on the line-up for the Sydney Comedy Festival Showcase when it comes to Merimbula this week, along with a stellar list of comedians including Becky Lucas, Jacques Barrett and Julia Wilson as well as UK's Alfie Brown and the US's Al Del Bene.
"He stinks the van out though, he's horrible," Heggie laughed.
"Really he's great."
He always enjoys touring with the showcase and said it was a fantastic line-up for the show at Merimbula, but wanted to dispel any mysteries about what comedians got up to when they hung out together.
"A lot of people would be disappointed about what comedians get up to in their spare time," he said.
"A lot of them are nerds.
"I sit up the back and bully them relentlessly."
He has performed in the Bega Valley before, including at 2015's memorable Cabaret of the Cow, organised by the region's own comedy superstar Rhys "The Trickster" Davies.
Heggie ended up on the bill for the show after Davies contacted him and was surprised to step into a night where the up-and-comer was juggling chainsaws.
"I like the kid, he's great," Heggie said.
"He's still young and optimistic. Comedians aren't in general, we get a bit old and grumpy about stuff."
While the federal election is still fresh in people's minds, he prefers to steer clear of politics when it comes to comedy as he likes to write material that will last longer than what is needed for the quick turnaround of political events.
Instead, he is more into "ripping into society and Australians in general".
"People say we've lost the ability to laugh at ourselves, but that's a select few, I think that most people still do," he said.
One of the funniest things about being an Australian is the level of cynicism people have, the Brisbane-raised comedian said.
"If I tell someone I'm a comedian they say 'oh yeah what's your plan B mate, because you're going to fail'," he said.
"It's the blasé way we talk about things as well, talking about things others would find quite horrible."
Is there anything Heggie dislikes about himself as an Australian?
"I'm the exception, I'm the one who's got everything right," he laughed.
"It's a great attitude to have as a comedian.
"I don't know what I hate about myself, probably my stupid face."
While he said it was hard to describe his style of comedy, he said to expect it to be dark, cynical and fairly unforgiving.
"None of which sounds that funny, does it?" he said.
"But trying to make those things sound funny, therein lies the challenge."
The Sydney Comedy Festival Showcase will be at Club Sapphire, Merimbula on Friday, May 31 with doors opening at 7.30pm.
Tickets are $32 and can be purchased online here. This is an 18+ event.
Albert McKnight
Journalist at Bega District News.
Journalist at Bega District News.
