The founding of Awkward Giraffe was triggered by the murder of the 22 year old Melbourne comedian Eurydice Dixon. She was murdered in Princes Park around 12am Wednesday 13th June 2018 on her way walking home from the Highlander Bar, where she appeared regularly. She had been trying out some new material on the Tuesday night and it had gone over well. She loved walking through parks at night and had taken off her shoes to better feel the grass underfoot.
Some of Eurydice’s comedian friends had expected great things from her. The show she was working on was to be called “Inconvenient Empathy” and some of her friends used that title for a tribute show. At the same time her family had to something with the small inheritance she left. Eurydice had a reputation for thinking things out for herself, and for socially engaged comedy that reflected that. These factors, and a general desire to see the values Eurydice stood for persist, led to the founding of Awkward Giraffe Incorporated in 2019, its official launch was in October of that year.
The title “Awkward Giraffe” comes from a hand gesture used to denote and defuse social embarrassment. Middle and ring fingers pressed against the thumb, index and little fingers upright, representing an animal with horns or big ears. Then the arm from wrist to elbow held up straightish representing a long neck. Then one turns the hand from side to side to represent a giraffe looking around nervously. This made Eurydice laugh.
The aim of Awkward Giraffe Inc in general and this webpage in particular is not to be some kind of ongoing funeral service for Eurydice. She would have seriously hated that. But it is in some part an attempt to continue to support what she stood for in life.
Below is one of the few video records of Eurydice’s work, from a bit less than a year before her death.
The Soundcloud audio clip below records Eurydice at the “Mad Fucking Witches” benefit for asylum seekers.
Eurydice on LARPing (Soundcloud)
https://m.soundcloud.com/user-166371479/eurydices-larping-bit