Would you like to spend your weekends dressed up as a clown? A group of singing comedians want to hear from you.
The University of Otago’s Sextet are on the hunt for the newest member of their six-man group to don the traditional clown makeup and yellow jumpsuit and join them for a year of a cappella singing and comedy.
Sextet veteran Finn Shaw said every year some people moved on or left university, and that gave students the opportunity to join a comedy-singing group that has been around for more than 100 years.
"We’re calling for Dunedin’s best singers and best comedians to come along and be a bit silly with us."
The sextets were "basically ingrained" into the stonework of the university, and could trace their beginnings back as far as the early 1900s.
"I don’t think the costumes have changed that much; when it first started in the 1900s, members wore tailcoats and dressed more or less like waiters.
"It was in the ’40s where the clown get-up was introduced, and it’s pretty much the exact same since then — the costumes we have now are at least 20 years old."
Sexytet member Isa de Vries said the Sexytets were newer than the men’s group, but it had risen up the ranks in its 23 years.
"It was just one person who thought ‘we need to do this’, and they made the girls group happen.
"It’s just got bigger and bigger, and now we’re on par with the guys.
"Girls can be funny too."
The girl’s outfit consists of a old-fashioned, housewife gingham pinafores, complete with aprons and braided pigtails.
"We own our feminity.
"It’s a bit of a piss-take against the more traditional, feminine role."
The Sextets and Sexytet’s biggest performance every year was the Capping Show, the world’s longest-running comedy revue show.
