Hannah Gadsby’s Netflix special, Nanette, has propelled the local comedian to international fame, and 47 other stand-up comics from around the world are no doubt hoping their inclusion in the streaming platform’s new series Comedians of the World might just do the same for them.
Representing Australia and New Zealand in this international laugh-fest are Urzila Carlson, Joel Creasey, Nazeem Hussain and Cal Wilson.
Creasey’s set sees him in classic self-deprecating mode, while Carlson is in riotous form as she kicks off her routine talking about ordering coffee (which is funnier than you’d think). In her special, Wilson deconstructs the word “slut”, among other things, while Hussain’s stream of rapid-fire jokes is our pick of the Australia/New Zealand group.
The other comedians come from 12 regions and speak eight different languages, so unless you are multilingual you won’t be able to understand all the rest of the 30-minute routines without subtitles, which is fine but not quite the optimal way to enjoy stand-up.
As for the rest of the English-language sets (by comedians from the US, the UK, Canada, India and South Africa), without naming any names, they’re not all hilarious. Far from it.
But then, comedy is such a subjective thing, and one person’s side-splitter is another person’s sigh and eye-roll.
So consider this a sampling menu, allowing you to test out a range of different comics then explore the ones you enjoy further. 3 stars
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