Mimmo & Mario

- “We've had so much bloody fun!”

For more than three decades, Mimmo Mancuso and Mario Magnani brought laughter to stages, airwaves and local festivals across the Hinchinbrook Shire. Now in their twilight years, the pair reflect on a life spent performing, improvising and making audiences smile.

“We've had so much bloody fun,” Mimmo laughs, recalling the start of their partnership in 1989. But the story goes back further. They first met in the 1970s at what is now the Ingham Theatre Group, during a performance of Rinse the Blood Off My Toga. Mimmo had to step in at the last minute dressed as a centurion—a role he hadn’t rehearsed—missing his first cue since 1971.

“It was chaotic, but that’s how it started,” Mimmo says. He joined the club shortly after and never left, though he admits it took him a little longer to find his rhythm on stage. “I don’t perform the characters. The characters speak through me,” he explains. “I used to get on stage and perform. I didn’t like performing the characters everybody else wanted me to perform, and I always had to mould it the way I thought it should be done.”

The duo became well-known for their impressionist theatre, comedy sketches, and improvisation. Shows like Robbin Hood and the time they shared on live radio remain standout memories. “It wasn’t just about line delivery,” Mario says. “It was the way we said the words, waiting for it to sink in.” The pair also helped pioneered theatre-restaurant performances, where short skits and songs blended seamlessly with acts from other performers.

Even when work and life got in the way, Mimmo and Mario found time for the stage. “We’d ad-lib a lot,” Mimmo recalls. “Some of the most memorable moments are those unscripted ones, just working off each other.” That spontaneity extended beyond the theatre; the duo became fixtures on local radio and TV, creating the characters Vittorio and Luigi, twin Italian brothers whose antics charmed audiences. “We don’t tell jokes,” Mario explains. “We tell stories. And we make funny little stories up. If we’re having a conversation with people, we’ll come out with something hilarious. But we don’t tell jokes.”

For Mario, the love of performance started young. “Once I figured out at school I was good at making everyone laugh, I was hooked,” he says. “Even in primary school, I was always joking around. The teacher kept telling me to sit down.” Mimmo, too, has passed the performance gene down the family. “My granddaughter loves it. Life happens during and in between shows, but it rubs off,” he says.

Some roles have lingered in memory longer than others. Mario fondly remembers playing a ten-year-old boy in The Blue Goose at age 14, a serious role that challenged his emotional range. Mimmo’s highlight? “I played a jumping flea once in a pantomime. It was silly, simple—but 54 years later, I still remember it!”

Their partnership worked because, as Mario puts it, “We never argue. We think alike. He can say something, I get it straight away. And vice versa. It’s the way things happen.” Mimmo agrees: “On stage, anything can happen. You just get up and play, muck around with the audience. It’s live, and it’s magic.”

Now in the 21st century, the duo still perform when time allows, though their pace is gentler. Looking back, they assured that lessons of life are better with a laugh.

"Never copy, always be yourself, and aim for 100 per cent of the audience laughing, not just 70,"  Mimmo said with a grin. “If you’re not getting them all, they’re asleep,”

For Mimmo and Mario, the stage has always been a place to relax, escape, and connect. With their characters, audiences, and each other. Decades may have passed, but the joy of performance and shared laughter remains timeless.

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