| Cruising ain’t no joke

WHEN cruising was suspended in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the impact on entertainers such as comedian Mark Trevorrow (pictured) was both huge and immediate.

Renowned for his side-splittingly funny and highly camp on-stage persona Bob Downe, Trevorrow saw his main source of income from regular P&O Cruises Australia comedy cruises disappear overnight.

“I miss our comedy cruises something shocking and can’t wait to get all jabbed and to be back at sea,” Trevorrow said.

“We are all missing each other terribly, all of the Sit Down Comedy Club comedians.

“We are just counting the days until we can sail again.”

Regular comedy cruise artists stay in touch with each other via a private Facebook group, and fortunately, Trevorrow has been able to take Bob Downe back on the road, while all the time looking forward to being back on the water again.

Trevorrow’s onstage character is an amalgam of the world in which he grew up, including “cheesy” variety television shows a nightly feature of Melbourne, “all straight from the Tivoli circuit”, plus flashy American movies and entertainers such as Dean Martin.

His love of cruising is not just business either, with he and his partner, Stefan (pictured), renewing their vows with 80 family members on board P&O Australia’s Pacific Jewel – however, Trevorrow admitted he had never been on a cruise ship before his first comedy cruise.

“I completely fell in love with cruising…the amazing thing with comedy cruises is that people book without knowing who the comedians will be.

“What that means for us as comedians is a fabulous level playing field where we all get out on stage and we live or die by how funny we are.

“You’ve also got that fellowship of your colleagues…you’re out at sea for three days with wonderful colleagues because usually when you’re touring you’re on your own and it gets pretty lonely,” Trevorrow added.