The Man in the Lab Coat

Ben McKenzie is an actor, comedian, writer and improviser who specialises in science comedy, and therefore usually describes himself as a “scientician”. He was born in Sydney, grew up in Ballina, Junee and Perth, and moved to Melbourne in 1997.

Described by The Groggy Squirrel as ‘one of Melbourne’s Kings of Geek Comedy’ and by Helen Razer as a ‘modish geek’, Ben has written, performed and produced a series of comedy science lectures as “The Man in the Lab Coat” since 2004. These have included Science-ology (’smart, funny and educational’ – The Age) and A Brief History of A Brief History of Time. His shows have appeared in both the Adelaide and Melbourne Fringe Festivals, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, and as part of the National Science Week programme. Currently his science-based focus is Museum Comedy, a continuing programme of events bringing comedy into museums and other institutions of learning, which began in 2008 with the first Melbourne Museum Comedy Tour.

More recently Ben has turned his comedic eye to gamer geekery with +1 Sword and Dungeon Crawl - both shows celebrating the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game – and to politics, as a regular performer with Political Asylum. He has also written and performed for monthly sketch comedy sensation The Anarchists Guild Social Committee, and was a member of Melbourne-based improvised comedy troupe The Crew from 2006 until they disbanded in 2009.

A trained public speaker, Ben has made numerous appearances for schools, corporations, scientific institutions, charity events and art gallery openings, always able to find a unique scientific angle on proceedings. Ben was a writer and presenter for the hit Channel 31 variety show Planet Nerd, and has also presented and narrated numerous educational and training films for Video Education Australasia.

Ben’s theatrical acting credits include Arcadia (Eclipse Theatre), Turnstiler (La Mama), Twelfth Night (Blue Chair Theatreworks), The Taking of Ramsey Street and The Lobotomist (both for theatre in decay), as well as his own short comic play, A Record or an OBE (‘beautifully played with lots of skilful dialogue’ – Independent Weekly, Adelaide). Ben has also appeared in many short films, and was nominated for Best Male Performance in the 2001 15/15 short film festival for his role in the Pi spoof M: Faith In Chocolate.

Ben has his own production company, Shaolin Punk, which produces his science shows, comedy tours and other works. Ben is available for corporate bookings.

Contact

You can get in touch with the Man in the Lab Coat via email at ben@labcoatman.com.au.

CV

You can download Ben’s current CV here: Ben McKenzie CV (5)