HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Colin Stuart Lane (born 25 March 1965) is an Australian comedian, actor and TV host, best known for being one-half of comedy duo
Lano and Woodley Lano and Woodley ( Colin Lane and Frank Woodley) is an Australian comedy duo. Previously, the two had been part of comedy trio The Found Objects along with Scott Casley. Casley left and so Lano and Woodley debuted as a double-act in March 1993 ...
.


Lano and Woodley

Lane performed with fellow comedian Frank Woodley as part of the duo
Lano and Woodley Lano and Woodley ( Colin Lane and Frank Woodley) is an Australian comedy duo. Previously, the two had been part of comedy trio The Found Objects along with Scott Casley. Casley left and so Lano and Woodley debuted as a double-act in March 1993 ...
for a period of almost 20 years. The two met through
theatresports Theatresports is a form of improvisational theatre, which uses the format of a competition for dramatic effect. Opposing teams can perform scenes based on audience suggestions, with ratings by the audience or by a panel of judges. Developed by di ...
in the mid-1980s and first performed together at an open mike night at the Prince Patrick Hotel in
Collingwood, Victoria Collingwood is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3km north-east of the Melbourne central business district, located within the City of Yarra Local government areas of Victoria, local government area. Collingwood recorded a ...
, in 1987 along with their friend Scott Casley, calling themselves the Found Objects. Over the next six years, the trio performed in venues throughout Australia and at the
Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...
. They became semi-regulars on ABC TV's '' The Big Gig'', a show known for boosting the careers of new comedy acts, had their own commercial radio show for six months and were part of the short-lived
Seven Network Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...
sketch show ''The Comedy Sale''. When in 1992 Casley moved away to
Alice Springs Alice Springs () is a town in the Northern Territory, Australia; it is the third-largest settlement after Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin and Palmerston, Northern Territory, Palmerston. The name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William ...
, Woodley and Lane decided to continue as a duo, drawing their name from childhood nicknames. As Lano and Woodley, the two adopt humorous onstage personas, with Woodley playing a "goofy innocent" who is frequently bullied by Lane's pompous, controlling character. Their first show as a comedy duo, "Fence", debuted in 1993. It toured throughout Australia, winning the Moosehead Award at the
Melbourne International Comedy Festival The Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF) is the largest stand-alone comedy festival and the largest international comedy festival in the world. First held in 1987, it takes place annually in Melbourne over four weeks, typically starti ...
for best act and was eventually taken the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1994, where it won the prestigious Perrier Comedy Award. Subsequent live productions have included "Curtains", "Glitzy", "Slick", "Bruiser", "The Island" and their 2006 farewell show, "Goodbye" which won the 2006 Helpmann Award for Best Comedy. In 2000, they co-hosted the televised Melbourne Comedy Gala. Woodley and Lane have created two television shows together. '' The Adventures of Lano and Woodley'', which premiered on the ABC in 1997, was a comedy series which featured the duo living together in a fictional suburban Melbourne flat and frequently getting into trouble. It aired for two seasons, airing in 38 other countries. Although they were offered the opportunity to make the series in England, the pair decided to remain in Australia because they did not want to live in London. In 2004 their live show, ''The Island'', was filmed as a TV special and aired on The Comedy Channel. The duo have also released an album, '' Lano & Woodley Sing Songs'', and a novel, ''Housemeeting''. In 2006, after close to 20 years of working together, Woodley and Lane decided to part ways. Woodley states the split was due to a desire to pursue new challenges. "We just got to the stage where we felt we had to make a decision," he says. "Either we were going to spend the next 20 years doing this, this'd be our career, our lives forever. And that wouldn't have been a terrible thing. Or we could go, 'Let's have a bit more variety in our lives'." In one final tour, the duo travelled through 37 Australian cities with their farewell show, "Goodbye". In 2016, Colin reunited with Frank Woodley for a surprise performance as part of the Melbourne Comedy Festival's 30th Birthday Bash. In 2018, the duo reprised their roles as
Lano and Woodley Lano and Woodley ( Colin Lane and Frank Woodley) is an Australian comedy duo. Previously, the two had been part of comedy trio The Found Objects along with Scott Casley. Casley left and so Lano and Woodley debuted as a double-act in March 1993 ...
for FLY, a show which won the 2018 Melbourne Comedy Festival People's Choice Award.


Solo work

Since Lano and Woodley's farewell tour, Lane has appeared in ''
Don's Party ''Don's Party'' is a 1971 play by David Williamson set during the 1969 Australian federal election. The play opened on 11 August 1971 at The Pram Factory theatre in Carlton (Victoria), Carlton. Plot Don Henderson is a schoolteacher living with ...
'' for the
Melbourne Theatre Company The Melbourne Theatre Company is a theatre company based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1953 as the Union Theatre Repertory Company at the Union Theatre at the University of Melbourne, it is the oldest professional theatre com ...
, followed by a season with the
Sydney Theatre Company Sydney Theatre Company (STC) is an Australian theatre company based in Sydney, New South Wales. The company performs in the Wharf Theatre at Dawes Point in The Rocks area of Sydney as well as the Roslyn Packer Theatre (formerly Sydney Theatre ...
. In 2008, he was cast as Pooh-Bah in Essgee Productions' ''
The Mikado ''The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen Gilbert and Sullivan, operatic collaborations. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, whe ...
''. Lane wrote and performed a solo cabaret show, ''I'm Not Sure About the Music'', about a man who loses the music and finds it again. He performed it in the
Melbourne International Comedy Festival The Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF) is the largest stand-alone comedy festival and the largest international comedy festival in the world. First held in 1987, it takes place annually in Melbourne over four weeks, typically starti ...
in 2009 and again for a limited return season in 2010. He has made numerous appearances on Australian television, having had guest appearances on '' Good News Week'', '' Spicks and Specks'', '' Welcher & Welcher'', '' Thank God You're Here'', ''
Neighbours ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera that has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons and ...
'', '' All Star Family Feud'' and '' Show Me the Movie!''. He has also been a presenter for two
Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...
shows, ''Wine Me, Dine Me'' and ''Kings of Comedy''. His film credits include Jimeoin's 2005 movie '' The Extra'', in which he played a movie extra, Danny, and the short film ''White Lines''. In 2011, Lane was a fill in host on '' The Circle'' for both Gorgi Coghlan (early 2011) and Chrissie Swan (late 2011) while they both took maternity leave. Also in 2011, it was announced that Lane would host ''
Ready Steady Cook ''Ready Steady Cook'' is a BBC daytime TV cooking game show. It debuted on 24 October 1994 and the last original edition was broadcast on 2 February 2010. The programme was hosted by Fern Britton from 1994 until 2000 when celebrity chef Ainsley ...
'' replacing Peter Everett from June that year. In 2013, 2014, 2017, and 2020 Lane appeared as a panellist on the UK comedy show '' QI''. He also made an appearance on Channel 7's '' SlideShow''. In November 2014, he appeared as a late replacement on the inaugural cruise of the Australian performing arts on the along with, among others,
Cheryl Barker Cheryl Ruth Barker (born 22 April 1960, Sydney) is an Australian operatic soprano who has had an active international career since the late 1980s. She has sung on several complete opera recordings with Chandos Records, including the title rol ...
, David Hobson, Teddy Tahu Rhodes, Simon Tedeschi,
Elaine Paige Dame Elaine Jill Paige (born Elaine Jill Bickerstaff, 5 March 1948) is an English singer and actress, best known for her work in musical theatre. Raised in Chipping Barnet, Barnet, Hertfordshire, Paige attended the Aida Foster Theatre School, m ...
,
Marina Prior Marina Prior (born 18 October 1963) is an Australian soprano and actress with a career mainly in musical theatre. From 1990 to 1993, she starred as the original Christine Daaé in the Australian premiere of ''The Phantom of the Opera (1986 mus ...
, and Jonathon Welch. With David Hobson, he appeared since 2016 at various festivals in the show "In Tails – A Comedian and an Opera Singer's Worlds Collide" which also toured Australia."In Tails – David Hobson, Colin Lane"
/ref>


References


External links

*
Profile
token.com.au

by Sean Lynch, Web Wombat {{DEFAULTSORT:Lane, Colin 1965 births Living people Comedians from Melbourne Australian male comedians Helpmann Award winners