An Evening with David Sedaris

I once stood in line for a really long time to get a book signed by David Sedaris. During the wait, he proposed that smokers go to the start of the line because they've been getting such a bad rap lately. When I, a non-smoker who had to stay at the back, finally reached the front of the line he was just about ready to go. He asked me when was the last time I had eaten a lamington, pronouncing it lamming-tohn. I explained to him the tradition of the 'lamington drive' as a fundraising tool and he took a little notebook out of his breast pocket and wrote it down. He used it the next day in a speech he gave. I WAS THRILLED. Life could not get better. Then I found out he was touring Sydney again.

It's these kind of small thrills that make up David Sedaris' memoirs, tales mostly mined from his large family. The first time I saw him speak live he wondered aloud about why his kin might be annoyed by his liberal lifting of their speech, his line of thought being "well what are [they] going to do with it?". His family offer many stories, particularly pertaining to his genius sister Amy (Strangers with Candy) and a filthy-mouthed younger brother known affectionately as The Rooster. His books â€" New York Times bestsellers, all â€" draw directly from his childhood, and more recently include tales of life with boyfriend Hugh in the French countryside that would seem idyllic to many, but to Sedaris it is a hotbed of intrigue teeming with zombie threat and "swimming" mice. 

A frequent contributor to The New Yorker and the much loved NPR radio show This American Life, David Sedaris is, how can I say this without seeming too forceful, not to be missed. His voice and particular talent with the pregnant pause add a whole new level of dry wit and sensitivity to his books which you should probably run out and read if you've not already. This is his third reading tour of Sydney, and his first at the State Theatre. Run/click quickly for tickets.