BWC Media Reviews
The Australian comedian returns home for her first national tour in five years, with no topic off the table. Expect gags about birth, Quorn, fingering and transition lenses, all with Felicity’s trademark high-energy delivery.
Meet the South Asian women challenging Australia’s white male comedy scene with Brown Women Comedy
The largest lineup of Indian, Pakistani, and South Asian comedians in Australia takes the stage, promising an evening of unapologetic and bold comedy. From cultural clashes to personal triumphs, these women tackle it all, turning taboo topics into comedy gold. Their previous success in Melbourne promises a show that’s both hilarious and insightful.
Brown Women Comedy’ Is The Shake-Up To Australia’s Comedy Scene That’s Well Overdue. Sindhu Vee, Lilly Singh and Mindy Kaling. These are some of the names that often come to mind when one thinks of a brown female comedian. But closer to home, there’s a new generation of South Asian Australian women coming up in the comedy scene, ready to challenge the stereotype that brown women aren’t funny – and make us laugh while they’re at it.
The Melbourne Comedy Festival’s Brown Women Comedy night was an evening packed full of laughter. Amna Bee, Sunanda, Urvi Majumdar, and Swati Vats tackled South Asian taboos and brought big belly-laughs as they navigated everything from all-girls schools to Pakistani-Indian relations. Each comic delivered a tight routine showcasing their unique observations of the realities of being a brown woman to an audience who responded knowingly and uproariously.
-Maya Pilbrow, Editor at SAARI Collective
Without going into all the structural, systemic, cultural and patriarchal challenges we face, life can be a pretty serious affair when you’re trying to live your best life as a brown woman. So, being in a room where we can listen to relatable stories and then giggle and laugh it all out together is doing a massive community service to all of our wellbeing! Thank heavens for Brown Women’s comedy, more please!.
-Leah Vandenberg, Actor and Activist.
Out of the 500-plus shows at the comedy festival, I counted only eight brown women – and six of them are here,” exclaims Daizy Maan, producer of Brown Women Comedy and the show’s concluding act. There’s a well-documented gender disparity in the comedy industry, but there’s a race problem too – a doubleewhammy for women of colour.But if you’re solely expecting jokes about the idiosyncrasies of brown parents and the weight of unmet cultural expectations, Brown Women Comedy isn’t for you. It touches on some of those things, yes, but so much more – sex, mental health, queerness, divorce. Brown Women Comedy is on at Queen Victoria Women’s Centre until April 12.
–Reviewed by Sonia Nair, The Age.
