Arj Barker says the baby making noises was ruining his train of thought. Photo: Getty Images / James D Morgan
Superstar comedian Arj Barker made headlines at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival over the weekend when he asked a mother to leave his show after her baby began making noises during the performance.
The incident has raised multiple issues, including inclusivity for breastfeeding mothers, but also the need to respect performers in the arts field.
So, what happened?
Arj Barker said he asked the breastfeeding mum to leave his show as the baby's crying was "ruining his train of thought".
"On behalf of the other 700 people there who had paid to see the gig, I politely told her the baby couldn't stay," he said.
Barker said he felt bad about the situation and offered the woman a refund as she was leaving the show.
The woman who was asked to leave, Trish Faranda, told Channel Ten's The Project that she wasn't expecting to be drawn into controversy by taking her child to the show.
"I just thought that it'd be really nice to do something that I hadn't done in a while. I just wanted to get back to a sort of pre-baby me," she said.
"I had no idea that it was going to turn into what it has."
Speaking on Tuesday, Barker said he wanted to make clear he had nothing against breastfeeding.
"The breastfeeding thing is a non-issue … I had no idea if she was breastfeeding or not because I'm on stage," he told Channel Nine's Today show.
"When you're on a lit stage, seeing the audience is like looking into a dark room while someone shines a flashlight into your face.
"I could see there was likely a woman holding a baby, that's all I could see, the breastfeeding was never part of it.
"If it were the father, I would have acted the exact same way, it had to do with the baby making noise."
What do comedians think about it?
Many in the comedy community have backed Barker's move, although none of the comedians contacted by the ABC wanted to go on the record to say as much.
But one figure in the comedy field said the mum had broken an unwritten rule by bringing her seven-month-old daughter to the show.
Morry Morgan is the founder of the Hard Knock Knocks comedy school in Melbourne, and said comedy shows should be treated with the same level of respect as other performing arts.
"I honestly don't think this conversation would happen if we were talking about Les Misérables or Miss Saigon," Morgan said.
"I think it would just be a given that a baby that young would never have been put as close to the stage or even in the room in the first place."
Could it have been handled better?
Faranda said she would not have had an issue with being asked to leave the show if it had been handled better and said she found the comedian's behaviour "intimidating".
"I was prepared to leave if I felt like she [the baby] was impacting on other people. It was more how it went down, if you know what I mean," she said.
"He could have just, off mic, said 'you know it's really disrupting me, do you mind?' And I would have happily packed up and gone."
Ironically, Faranda was politely asked by hosts of The Project to hand her baby to her partner last night after the child's crying disrupted the interview.
Morgan said that in a high-stress situation like stand-up, distractions affecting the quality of the performance had big ramifications.
"It's a very, very stressful environment for anyone - particularly a stand up comedian - because the show rests on your shoulders alone, there are no other cast members on stage," he said.
"You're representing the income of tens of people … sound engineers, ushers, the venue itself, who are depending on you to bring a crowd and to pay their wages."
Morgan said he did not agree with suggestions Faranda had been "humiliated".
"There's no duty of care for the comedians to protect your feelings," he said.
"She's in a comedy show sitting in reasonably the front rows. It's just ignorant and maybe a little bit of selfishness, to be honest."
-ABC
