Gays to wed

[Gob]

It wouldn't be the first marriage proposal aided along by a few drinks, but there's little else that's ordinary about the impending nuptials of comedians Rhys Nicholson and Zoe Coombs Marr.



They will marry at the Comedy Festival club on Friday night, the day before the Barry Awards are held at the same venue. Both Coombs Marr and Nicholson are nominated for a Barry, awarded to the best show of Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

"We'll be back at Max Watt's for our honeymoon," Nicholson says.

They were engaged last August in Edinburgh when Nicholson came to Coombs Marr's dressing room, where she was still in character as her alter ego, Dave, complete with his trademark patchy beard.

"I was in a nice suit and I think we looked at each other in the mirror and said we look like the most f---ed up gay wedding we've ever seen," Nicholson says.

They went out drinking and the next day Coombs Marr put the hard word on Nicholson.

"She was like, 'I've been thinking about it, I think we should get married'. And then we had to tell our partners. My partner was in Edinburgh with his mother and he had to tell her his partner was getting married to a woman."

Nicholson and Coombs Marr are firm friends, nothing more. Both have other partners. Both are gay. They're getting married to highlight the fact that it is still illegal for them to marry the people they love.
"It's a radical act, and it's not that often you get the opportunity to do that," Coombs Marr says.

"I love weddings, it's a big event for a family and this is serious stuff, but at the same time, we can't do it and we're queer, and we have a history of making mockeries of shit that excludes us."

Mostly, they've been met with support, but there have been a few objectors. "We had this guy on Twitter yesterday saying, 'you're ripping off something that you want, that's a good way to go about it'," Nicholson says.

"And we were like, 'it is actually, because it's all about visibility'.

"If you think about the Mardi Gras and the history of gay protest it's all about access and imagery and putting it in people's faces," Coombs Marr says.

They promise a lot of "strong imagery" at Friday night's wedding, though they're keeping most details under wraps. A "stellar line-up" of mystery comedians will attend, as will their partners and families.

It's unclear who'll be the bride on the night, but at Thursday's photo shoot Coombs Marr wore the white dress as Nicholson helped her become Dave.

"This is what marriage is about, isn't it, having someone to hold your baggie of hair while you stick on your beard?"

It's been a breakout year for Coombs Marr, who is hotly tipped to win the Barry. She heads to New York straight after the comedy festival to start work on a show with Adrienne Truscott and Ursula Martinez.


Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/com ... z45rM48S6m

[Bicycle Bill]

So this mockery of a marriage between two D-list celebrities/comics/queers is little more than a publicity stunt.

-"BB"-

[Gob]

That's one perspective on it.

OR

You could say they are highlighting the stupidity that they are able to marry each other, but not the people they love.

[TPFKA@W]

I am confused as to where it is they live that doesn't allow gay marriage?

[MajGenl.Meade]

Ah, two "comedians" to ignore

Thanks for the warning

[rubato]

How long do you think it will be before same-sex marriage is legal and unremarkable in Aus?



yrs,
rubato

[Gob]

I am confused as to where it is they live that doesn't allow gay marriage?

Australia.

[Long Run]

It is hard to go with the flow when the water swirls the other way down the drain.

[Scooter]

So this mockery of a marriage between two D-list celebrities/comics/queers is little more than a publicity stunt.

Gay people are always being told that allowing them to marry makes a mockery of marriage. This marriage is admittedly a mockery, but knowing that cannot stop it from being legal, and in any sphere where marital status has relevance, government, employment, etc., no one will be able to refuse to treat them as married. What better illustration of the absurdity of the argument.

Do you remember when Britney Spears got drunk one night in Las Vegas and woke up to learn she had gotten married? It happened around the time same-sex marriage cases were making their way through the courts here. She got it annulled, but I remember thinking, that was the choice of her and/or her groom. Not being conscious enough to remember getting married gave them grounds for an annulment, but no one else had the right to challenge the validity of that marriage or force an annulment against their will. People get married in all sorts of circumstances that demean the meaning of the vows they take, but no one would ever even contemplate invalidating those marriages. But same-sex couples are accused of wanting to make a mockery of marriage, of wanting to destoy marriage, of being a threat to the very fabric of society. Sometimes peopl

[RayThom]

In the immortal words of Groucho Marx, "Marriage is a wonderful institution, but who wants to live in an institution?"

Marriage -- gay or straight -- is merely a social construct. Anyone outside of that dual commitment has no standing as to what it is -- or what it's not. Period.

[Bicycle Bill]

And as the lines continue to blur, it's beginning to become impossible to tell the difference between what's a joke and what's serious any more.


Kiwi Pastafarians tie legally-sanctioned "noodly knot"

-"BB"-

[RayThom]

And as the lines continue to blur, it's beginning to become impossible to tell the difference between what's a joke and what's serious any more.

Exactly. From the sublime to the ridiculous, none of these "unions" are mine. They pose no threat to my social value system. Like beauty, marriage is in the eye of the beholders.

Now this is a serious marriage. How can anyone possibly take umbrage?

[Joe Guy]

I'm sure a person could take umbrage under those awnings the bride had installed on her front porch.

[wesw]

ray ray ray...

link please?

I d like to take a better look at those two getting married....