Lano and Woodley say their comedic tribute to the Wright brothers, the pioneers of flight, is lighter than a paper plane on facts but rises above it.
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The Australian comedy duo, Colin Lane and Frank Woodley, on Monday hosted the launch of the 32nd Melbourne International Comedy Festival, performing an off-kilter musical number from their reunion show, Fly.
Reconvening for their first tour together in more than a decade, the festival's headline Australian act said nine warm-up performances in Canberra, Newcastle and Adelaide had settled the nerves.
"We are feeling pretty relaxed," Woodley told AAP ahead of their first Melbourne performance on Thursday.
"I don't want to sound like I'm blowing my own trumpet, but it has basically been going really, really well, the audiences have been so enthusiastic."
After splitting to pursue solo careers in 2006, Lane said the time was right for the duo to return to the stage with their trademark brand of slapstick, musical and theatrical comedy.
And he warned fans that their latest endeavour would be as silly as ever.
"Basically, the show is about the Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur Wright but four-fifths of it is about Frank trying to sabotage my efforts to do the story of the Wright brothers," Lane said.
"It's about the Wright brothers, but if you're doing aeronautical engineering or you want to be a pilot, you're not going to learn anything at our show."
Woodley backed up his comedic partner's air-headed sentiments, saying "all the research we did was the first paragraph of the Wikipedia page".
The reunited pair are among 612 acts who will perform for 26 consecutive, jam-packed days of the festival at venues across the city.
Lano and Woodley headline a smorgasbord of homegrown and international acts including Kitty Flanagan, Celia Pacquola, Jimeoin, Peter Helliar, Fiona O'Loughlin and Stephen K. Amos.
More than 760,000 people flocked to the 2017 festival, surpassing the AFL finals series, Australian Open, and the combined total of the Melbourne Cup and Australian Grand Prix.
Australian Associated Press
