Taskmaster Australia is back, and this time Rhys Nicholson joins the screwball antics! Here I chat with Rhys.
Tell us about your role in Taskmaster Australia. Was it easy or hard?
Rhys Nicholson: An equal mixture of both! I’m a huge fan of the show having watched the UK version for years. It’s one of those shows you watch thinking, “Oh, I know what I’d do in that situation”. It’s like watching a game show and knowing all the answers! (Laughing) When they announced the cast for the first Australian series, I was so disappointed because I wanted to do it. So, when the offer came through this time I was “Yes!”
Has it been what you expected?
It’s such a dreamy job, but you cannot prepare for it. Usually, you’ll get a bit of a run-through on how a show will work, but we sit down in front of the audience and don’t know what’s going to happen. Maybe that’s kind of terrifying, but of course, for me, it’s quite liberating. On some panel shows you must know heaps of stuff, but I hate homework! It can be mortifying too because the crew don’t give any indication of whether you’ve done a task well or if you’ve fucked it up. I’ll watch it back thinking I didn’t do it as well as I thought, or the perfect reverse when I’ll be, “Oh my god! I think I may have won this task!” It’s genuinely my favourite type of TV.
You obviously can’t give too much away, but was there a particularly challenging task?
The hard ones are the prize tasks which we have to organise outside the parameters of the show. Some of the tasks in the house are not easy by any stretch and you can only use the stuff within the house, but you have to come up with the prizes for the other task. It’s like anything is possible and I’m particularly proud of one prize task involving an unexpected person whom I was actually able to contact.
Rhys Nicholson
Hmm, are we talking family Christmas and a certain young blonde?
(Laughing) I wish! No, he’s way, way too busy! But I did get very lucky with this person. The particularly hard tasks are always the short ones because we don’t have time to think. Everything about the show is real! Sometimes a task will go for three hours and sometimes thirty seconds, but it’s the short ones where I’ll watch the footage and realise what a fucking moron I am in a stressful situation! It’s made me realise I shouldn’t be trusted in an emergency!
“I probably sat on the fact that I was non-binary for a while because I’d think maybe I’m not queer enough.”
There are some similarities to tasks on The Amazing Race. Would you ever consider doing the celebrity edition?
There’s nothing I would be worse at than The Amazing Race! Taskmaster is perfect because it straddles the line between a reality, comedy and panel show. It’s a competition but has elements of a reality show and having been on the other side as a judge on Drag Race: Down Under, it’s made me realise I wouldn’t be a good reality contestant. Seeing what the queens go through and must deal with has made me think I could do it. I don’t think I’m that strong! For instance, I don’t drive and I’m just starting lessons. I just got married and it would ruin my marriage if my husband was teaching me. In those Amazing race challenges, you see them lock horns and I wouldn’t want to cancel my marriage for entertainment (Laughing).
Yes, congratulations on the marriage, how was it?
Thank you! We were meant to get married in May of 2020, but well, a bit of the flu went around! So, we cancelled, did some rejigging and got married at the Enmore Theatre in Sydney. I was putting new material together at the time and thought something interesting would happen at the wedding to use, but it was a lovely perfect day. Nothing happened! (Laughing)
Rhys Nicholson
Except, I heard that Zoe Coombs Marr objected.
Oh yes, and I loved how that became clickbait! (Laughing) We treated the wedding kind of like a show and planned all that. My husband Kyran and I are both producers and run a venue together (Comedy Republic) and when you think about it, a wedding is just like theatre. We thought it would be funny to get our celebrant to ask if anyone had any objections and we grabbed Zoe beforehand and asked if she’d do it. The thing is, Zoe and I got married years ago around the time of the Australian marriage equality. We wanted to be Australia’s first gay wedding! She even wore our engagement ring to the wedding. But the best part was how we planned for her to stand up to object and then Kyran would get worked up. I was holding him back while he was screaming at Zoe to sit the fuck down. I was shouting, “She’s not worth it! She’s old news!” and everyone was laughing. They were all in on the joke except for our young niece and nephew. They thought Uncle Kyran had lost his mind!
“I get to sit in a fucking room and watch drag queens lip-sync for their life!”
And you now use the non-binary pronouns they and them?
Well, it’s a newish thing and I’ve always felt kind of iffy about non-binary and gender. For years I’ve jokingly used female pronouns on stage, in the way a lot of queer people do. But during the pandemic lockdowns, we would have Friday night drinks with a rotating group of friends – kind of big existential crisis chats discussing ideas until Midnight. It would be me, Kyran, Geraldine Hickey and her wife Cath. I was explaining how I felt about gender and Hickey said it sounded like I might be non-binary. I think I had suspected this before but sometimes it takes someone to put a word to it. So, then I slowly started telling people. It’s one of those things where there’s no dysphoria about it and for me, it’s more of a social stance. I just think it’s all a bit made up and everyone has their own views. There’s a band called Cub Sport that I love, and the lead singer Tim has been very open online about their shifting views about their gender, and I admire that. It shouldn’t have to be a one-and-done type of thing. Even sometimes in the queer community, we’re obsessed with labels, because we’ve had to be. It’s a very radical act for a queer person to announce how they feel about something. As a result, I think we’ve become a little too attached to that. I probably sat on the fact that I was non-binary for a while because I’d think maybe I’m not queer enough to be that thing. Could I still present as male? No, I don’t feel male, and I don’t feel female. I feel in the middle and I’m happy to work that out publicly.
Rhys Nicholson
But you’ll still call yourself the ‘fun aunt’?
Oh yeah! I’m still at the kid’s table!
What’s the best part about working on RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under?
I get to go to work, and watch Drag. Drag is my favourite thing. I’ve been obsessed with it since I was a kid. It’s very important to me and being able to watch some of the best queens in both Australia and New Zealand is just brilliant. That sounds like such a press line, but it’s genuinely how I feel! Seeing the best of the best do their best is a privilege. I mean I get to sit in the fucking room and watch them lip-sync for their life! To me, Drag Race is not the be-all and end-all. It’s a launching pad. I’ve been doing a few of the touring shows like the Queens of Comedy tour and I’m doing a live Snatch Game tour this year. Seeing the queens flourish in theatre instead of performing to a drunken audience at two in the morning is exciting.
“I was holding Kyran back while he was screaming at Zoe to sit the fuck down.”
Conan O’Brien embraced you – like a son! You even look like his son!
That was such a wild and serendipitous thing to happen. Years ago, I was booked to be on a particular competition reality show set in a jungle, but at the last minute, I was told I wasn’t needed because they found someone else. I was pretty grumpy about it, but it turned out lucky because my agent got a call from Conan O’Brien’s people about how he’d like me and Becky Lucas to open for his tour. He was so nice to me, and I went on to make my US debut on his talk show. I then got an American agent and a Netflix special which RuPaul saw and put me on Drag Race! I’m very lucky I didn’t go into the jungle! Plus, I didn’t have to eat any gross animal parts!
Are you doing the 2024 Comedy Festivals?
Yes, I’ve been writing, and this is the first show I’ve done in a couple of years – apart from Rhys & Joel’s Family Christmas. So, I’m doing the Melbourne Comedy Festival in my own venue which I’m looking forward to. I had the option to play some larger rooms which are great for paying the mortgage, but I miss places like the Comedy Republic where I’m a co-owner. I enjoy the clubby vibe.
Taskmaster Australia is coming to 10 and 10 Play in January 2024
Follow Rhys on Instagram @rhysnicholson
