Attn: The ARIAs.
Last night, while accepting the ARIA for Best Comedy Release, Triple J’s Matt Okine took the opportunity to point out the lack of recognition for women in comedy.
You can watch the whole speech here:
Okine said. “I don’t think there was any women like nominated at all in the comedy category just then. I don’t think there’s any women who are like featured artists on tonight’s show even.”
Very astute of him. In fact, Matt, no women have been nominated in this particular category for the past 10 years.
So, as an antidote to that nonsense, here is a list of the Aussie women making us laugh right now. Check ’em out.
1. Kate McLennan and Kate McCartney from The Katering Show
The comedy duo who caught our eye by reviewing the Thermomix and hilariously quitting sugar are getting their own show on the ABC next year.
Here’s the margarita-swilling team making announcing their new project:
2. Celia Pacquola
Celia Pacquola was superb when she opened for John Oliver recently, and you might have caught her in The Beautiful Lie or the excellent Utopia on ABC over the past few months. She’s back on the network next year too, in new production Rosehaven.
3. Claudia O’Doherty
Claudia O’Doherty had a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it role in Amy Schumer’s Trainwreck earlier this year, probably because Schumer wanted to hang out with her on-set. Schumer managed to lure her to New York with a job working as a writer on Inside Amy Schumer, but O’Doherty’s been creating her own comic characters for years.
One-woman shows led to TV appearances (she’s even been on QI with Stephen Fry), which led her to the US, where things appear to be going swimmingly.
A couple of years ago, she did a series of shorts for Channel 4’s Comedy Blaps in the UK. Watch her answer the age old question, what is England?
Oh yeah, and she’s written an extremely factual book about pandas, and her dad is Mambo artist/musician Reg Mombassa.
4. Hannah Gadsby
Hannah Gadsby has been hilariously deadpan on Please Like Me of late and she seems pretty unconcerned about the state of women in comedy in this country.
5. The Skit Box team
‘Nuff said.
6. Zoe Norton Lodge
Zoe Norton Lodge had been performing in independent theatre for years when she hooked up with The Chaser team and started working on projects such as The Hamster Wheel and The Checkout on ABC.
You could even have seen her telling tall tales live, at Story Club in Sydney, which she has been hosting with Ben Jenkins.
She’s also written a book, Almost Sincerely.
Watch Zoe’s TedX talk here…
7. Zoe Coombs Marr
In Zoe Coombs Marr’s lastest show, she plays a misogynistic yet ultimately lovable moron called Dave.
She spoke about comedy in Australia to The Guardian earlier this year.
“The situation in Australia in terms of female comics is similar as it is everywhere, as in there are less of them and it’s harder to do, because when you’re learning [your trade] audiences will receive you in a different way. I think we live in a sexist world and comedy is a reflection of its audience. And Australia is really parochial – it’s a small audience so there’s not enough people to sustain any kind of niche stuff. I think female comics are still seen as a niche.”
Sydneysiders can see Dave Friday 27th and Saturday 28th of November at the Giant Dwarf theatre.
8. Magda Szubanski
Just, Magda. <3
9. Claire Hooper
Former Good News Week team captain Claire Hooper has totally risen to the challenge of hosting The Great Australian Bake Off this year and we couldn’t be happier about it.
10. Susie Youssef
Susie Youssef is a Sydney-based sketch comedy writer, actor, improviser and Theatresports® champion. She is certifiably hilarious.
Catch Youssef next at an extravaganza to aid ChilOut – Children Out of Immigration Detention on December 17 in Sydney. Also on the bill are Rove McManus, Celeste Barber and Tom Walker.
This list is by no means comprehensive (or presented in any meaningful order). There are a ton of women who have been killing it in comedy for years, such as Judith Lucy, Denise Scott, Fiona O’Loughlin, Felicity Ward, Julia Zemiro, Nelly Thomas, Anne Edmonds, Natalie Tran, Gina Riley, Jane Turner, Gen Fricker, Meshel Laurie, Mel Buttle, Geraldine Hickey, Marg Downey, etc, etc, etc.
Tell us your favourites in the comments!