| Aunty Donna | |||||||
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 Aunty Donna (top–bottom: Ruane, Bonanno, Kelly) atThe Alexandra, Birmingham on theMagical Dead Cat Tour in 2023 | |||||||
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| Years active | 2011–present | ||||||
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| Website | auntydonna | ||||||
YouTube information | |||||||
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| Subscribers | 625,000[1] | ||||||
| Views | 166 million[1] | ||||||
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Last updated: 25 February 2025 | |||||||
Aunty Donna is an Australiansurrealist comedy group formed inMelbourne in 2011. The group currently consists of performers and writers Mark Bonanno, Broden Kelly and Zachary Ruane, alongside writer and director Sam Lingham, director Max Miller and composer Thomas Zahariou (formerly Armstrong).
Their work spans numerous live shows, aYouTube channel, podcasts,a studio album, theNetflix producedAunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun, theABC produced seriesAunty Donna's Coffee Cafe and a picture book.[2] The group also founded Haven't You Done Well Productions together in 2018, through which they produce their own work as well as others.[3]
They have frequently collaborated with other comedians, includingMichelle Brasier andDemi Lardner.
Members of the group have cited comediansMonty Python,Shaun Micallef,The Mighty Boosh,Nathan Fielder, andTim & Eric as influences, as well as television series such asMr. Show with Bob and David andStella, and programming blockAdult Swim.[4][5][6][7][8][9]
Aunty Donna was formed in 2011 after its five original members (Mark Bonanno, Broden Kelly, Joe Kosky, Sam Lingham, and Zachary Ruane) met atUniversity of Ballarat's Arts Academy.[10][11] Trained as actors, the group saw a lack of demand for independent theatre and decided to attempt comedy instead,[12] beginning as live performers.[13] Their first live show,Aunty Donna in Pantsuits, debuted in 2012 at theMelbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF) and was nominated for aGolden Gibbo Award, which pushed the group to continue making comedy.[14][15] Kelly also recruited his high school friend, composer Thomas Zahariou soon after its founding.[16] To perform at the festival, MICF required the group to film a selection of comedy sketches, for which they recruited director Max Miller, who Kelly and Zahariou knew from high school.[6][16] They created sketches forC31 Melbourne, and began their YouTube channel in 2011 to upload the sketches from C31 and their MICF online.[6]
Joe Kosky and later Adrian Dean departed Aunty Donna to pursue other ventures. Their second live show,Aunty Donna and the Fax Machine Shop, debuted at theMelbourne Fringe Festival in 2012,[17] and won its People’s Choice Award.[18]
2014 saw their third live show,World's Greatest Showbag, at the MICF, as well as aBest Of live show that debuted the group internationally at both theSF Sketchfest andEdinburgh Festival Fringe.[19][20]
In 2015, the group created a self-titled half-hour television pilot for theABC andScreen Australia as part of the inauguralFresh Blood Pilot Season comedy initiative, but the series was not picked up.[21][22] According to Kelly, the pilot was about the experience of Dean leaving the group.[23] They released the sketch "Bikie Wars" on YouTube, featuringJohn Wood ofBlue Heelers fame, which became their most popular video.[10]TheSydney Morning Herald credited the group with successfully converting its onlinefanbase into "bums on seats" for their live shows.[23]
In 2016, the group released theweb series1999, based on theY2K panic and funded by Screen Australia as part of their $100,000 Skip Ahead talent development initiative.[24][25] They were also selected byComedy Central for its Australian platform and were the first to be launched on the site.[26] The group began the weeklyAunty Donna Podcast.[27]
In 2017, the group released a second half-hour comedy pilot,Chaperones, which was not continued into a full series.[21] In April, they starred in the music video for hip-hop duoHorrorshow's "Eat The Cake".[28]
In 2018 the group released a full-length studio comedy album,The Album,[29] which was followed by a national tour in November and October.[30]The Album debuted at number 30 on theAustralian charts and received anARIA nomination forBest Comedy Release.[31] They also released a version of a past live show,New Show, on YouTube, filmed at theEnmore Theatre.[32] The group also released the sketch "Always Room for Christmas Pud", which theAustralian Financial Review later said had become "something of aMillennial cultural touchstone in Australia".[33] The sketch would become a running gag for the group, later receiving afamily friendly re-release in 2022.[34]
Making use of their production company, the group released the 16-partGlennridge Secondary College web series in 2019, which followed a fictional Australiansecondary school.[35][31] It was nominated for anAACTA Award for the best online drama or comedy.[31]
In November 2020, Aunty Donna released theirNetflix seriesAunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun.[21] To promote the show, the group erected a replica of theUtah monolith in Melbourne with help from YouTubersI Did a Thing andAleksa Vulović.[36]Neil Patrick Harris andRuPaul both praised the show.[31]
In March 2021, Aunty Donna hosted the Opening Night Comedy Allstars Supershow at the MICF.[37] They made a cameo appearance on season 1 ofRuPaul's Drag Race Down Under in June.[38]
2022 sawThe Magical Dead Cat Tour, the group's first live tour in three years after it was delayed byCOVID-19 lockdowns, covering Australia and New Zealand.[39] Later in the year, the group releasedAlways Room for Christmas Pud, apicture book based on their popular YouTube video of the same name.[40] They hosted the musical comedy gala at Sydney'sJust for Laughs comedy festival in December.[41] For Christmas, the group released a real "$30 Bottle Of Wine", in reference to their 2016 sketch of the same name.[42]
In August 2022, the group announced that they had been signed byABC to create a newsitcom TV series depicting them running a café in theMelbourne laneways.[43] The show was later namedAunty Donna's Coffee Cafe and was released on the 12 April 2023.[44] Alongside the main members of the group, the series starred Gaby Seow, Sally-Anne Upton, Michelle Brasier,Vidya Rajan, and Mish Wittrup.[45]
In 2023, the trio provided voices for characters in the Australian version of the 2023 filmDungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.[46] After returning from the tour, the group began to release a three-hourDungeons & Dragons campaign viaPatreon in November, hosted by Bonanno and titledTheMcMuffinMacGuffin. However, the hard drive holding the footage was destroyed, leading to the release of only one episode and the filming of a second campaign featuring writer Sam Lingham.[47]
They provided voices for the animated sci-fi comedy feature filmLesbian Space Princess, which premiered at theAdelaide Film Festival in October 2024.[48]
Haven't You Done Well Productions is a production company established by the members of Aunty Donna in 2018, with the aim of assisting and educating online creatives,[49] who would usually struggle to find a platform due to being too "weird",[27] to develop and produce comedy projects and to ensure they retain ownership of their own works. The company is mentored byAndy Lee. In 2019, it received funding from Screen Australia, sharing a pool of $1.2 million for sector and talent development.[49] The company produced the Aunty Donna webseriesGlennridge Secondary College[50] and co-producedAunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun andAunty Donna's Coffee Cafe.[50]
Grouse House is a YouTube channel operated by Haven't You Done Well Productions. It has produced several comedy webseries which are hosted on the YouTube channel Grouse House, includingHug The Sun (2021) featuring Ben Russell and Xavier Michelides,[51]Hot Department: Dark Web (2022) featuring comedy duo Hot Department,[50] andFinding Yeezus (2022), a six-part documentary web series that revealed the identity of the creator of the 2013 video gameKanye Quest 3030 starring Cameron James and Alexei Toliopoulos and directed by Max Miller.[52][53][54] The five-part comedyDescent (2024), set on a submarine and featuring comedians Millie Holten, Madi Savage, and Ella Lawry, was also released on the channel.[55]
In 2022 Screen Australia funded its production of science fiction romantic comedyThe Alien Abduction of Emily Hill,[56] and in 2023Crime Casters, a comedy about atrue crime podcaster.[57] In 2023, they produced Fairbairn Films'Fairbairn in the City, again financed by Screen Australia's Skip Ahead funding.[58]
In June 2024, the company announced a commercial division, having already filmed ads forSamsung,PlayStation,Heineken,Coles and a campaign for a collaboration betweenLego andSega.[59]
| Year | Show title | Tours |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Aunty Donna in Pantsuits | Melbourne International Comedy Festival[14] |
| 2012 | Aunty Donna and the Fax Machine Shop (A Murder Mystery) | Melbourne Fringe Festival[17] |
| 2013 | Aunty Donna and the Fax Machine Shop | Melbourne International Comedy Festival |
| 2013 | Aunty Donna (Best Of) | Sydney (Factory Theatre) |
| 2014 | Aunty Donna's World's Greatest Showbag | Melbourne International Comedy Festival |
| 2014 | Aunty Donna (Best Of) | Edinburgh Festival Fringe,[20]SF Sketchfest[19] |
| 2015 | Aunty Donna (Self Titled) | Melbourne International Comedy Festival,Sydney Comedy Festival, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, London (Soho Theatre), regional UK tour |
| 2016 | Aunty Donna: New Show | Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Sydney Comedy Festival, Brisbane Comedy Festival, Perth Fringe,New Zealand International Comedy Festival, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, London (Soho Theatre), North America |
| 2017 | Aunty Donna: Big Boys | Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Canberra Comedy Festival, Sydney Comedy Festival, Brisbane Comedy Festival,[7] Perth Fringe,Adelaide Fringe, New Zealand International Comedy Festival, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, London (Leicester Square Theatre), North America |
| 2018 | Aunty Donna: Glennridge Secondary College | Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Canberra Comedy Festival, Sydney Comedy Festival, New Zealand International Comedy Festival |
| 2018 | Aunty Donna: The Album Tour | Australian tour |
| 2019 | Aunty Donna: Glennridge Graduation Party | Australian tour |
| 2022–2023 | Aunty Donna: The Magical Dead Cat Tour | Australian/New Zealand tour followed by world tour of Australia, UK, Ireland, USA and Canada |
| 2025- 2026 | Aunty Donna: DREM | World Tour of Australia, New Zealand, UK, Ireland, USA, Canada |
In December 2012, Aunty Donna createdAunty Donna's Rumpus Room, a seven-part web series which originally aired as segments onC31 Melbourne and its YouTube channel.[7] Much of its YouTube content is based on content adapted from its live shows, and vice versa.
The majority of Aunty Donna's YouTube content is organized by the group into different series. These series include:
The group began a self-titled podcast in 2016, releasing weekly episodes.[27] It usually involvesimprovisedcharacter comedy withsatirical premises,[61] and has been described byWonderland as "hugely popular".[62]
In 2018, Aunty Donna announced they would be releasing their debut albumThe Album on 6 April 2018. On 9 February 2018, Aunty Donna released the first single from the album, "Chuffed (Dad Song)", and accompanying video. The album debuted at No. 30 on theARIA Albums Chart.[63]
| Title | Details | Peak positions |
|---|---|---|
| AUS[63] | ||
| The Album |
| 30 |
| Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun (Music from the Netflix Comedy Series) |
| |
| Aunty Donna's Coffee Café |
|
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Lesbian Space princess | Straight White Maliens |
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Melbourne International Comedy Festival | Golden Gibbo Award | Aunty Donna in Pantsuits | Nominated | [10] |
| Melbourne Fringe Festival | People's Choice Award | Aunty Donna and the Fax Machine Shop | Nominated | [10] | |
| 2013 | Melbourne WebFest | Melbourne's Best Prize | Aunty Donna's Rumpus Room | Won | [64] |
| 2014 | 9th AACTA Awards | Best Online Drama or Comedy | Glennridge Secondary College | Nominated | [65] |
| 2016 | Melbourne WebFest | Best Ensemble | 1999 | Won | [64] |
| Sydney Comedy Festival | Director's Choice | Aunty Donna | Won | [66] | |
| 2017 | Helpmann Awards | Best Comedy Performer | Big Boys | Nominated | [67] |
| 2018 | ARIA Music Awards | Best Comedy Release | Aunty Donna: The Album | Nominated | [68] |
| 2019 | Melbourne WebFest | Best Australian Comedy | Glennridge Secondary College | Won | [64] |
| 2021 | 11th AACTA Awards | Best Narrative Comedy Series | Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun | Nominated | [69] |
| Best Comedy Performer | Mark Bonanno | Nominated | [69] | ||
| Broden Kelly | Nominated | [69] | |||
| Best Original Score in Television | Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House Of Fun - Episode 1: Housemates | Nominated | [70] |
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