I was kindly invited to attend two shows at this year's
Bris Funny Fest. In case you didn't know, Bris Funny Fest is an independent, volunteer-run comedy festival based in Brisbane. It is a fabulous opportunity to showcase the brilliant talent of our local up and coming performers. I wasn't quite sure what to expect because, in the back of my mind, the word amateur was a flag that I would need an extra glass of self-inducing giggle juice AKA wine to truly enjoy my evening. The first show was on a weeknight so that extra glass was not optional and thankfully entirely not needed.
Sean Quinn
First up was Irish comedian
Sean Quinn's show Cognitive Behavioural Terrorist at the
Heya Bar on Brunswick St. To be honest, he had me at Cognitive Behavioural Terrorist. My curiosity was looking for a cat, I had so many questions. What does Cognitive Behavioural Terrorist mean? Does he use Jedi mind tricks to mess with the audience and if so which of my friends should I volunteer first as tribute?? It turns out Sean is no Jedi. He is, however, a Cognitive Behavioural Therapist, earning a living surrounding himself with other peoples problems, fears and anxieties, sounds healthy right? The Irishman had the crowd laughing, and although I could see he was nervous, he had some pretty clever material. His props were simple but effective and he encouraged audience participation. Great atmosphere and hey, I smiled the whole time.
Jasmine Fairbairn, Ana Brennan, Carolyn Mandersloot, and Emi Grace
Next up, over at the
Soapbox Bar on Gipps St, in the Fortitude Valley was a combo of hilarious relatable women in a show called Lady LOLs. This group of diversely brilliant women were born to make you laugh. These comedians were quick and clever!
Anna Brennan warmed up the audience with a funny game of baby names.
Carolyn Mandersloot is a highly successful death doula by trade, need I say more?
Emi Grace's musical comedy songs were catchy, funny and well delivered. Then there is
Jasmine Fairbairn, well she is Canadian! An extremely amusing one at that. She had the lady sitting behind me laughing like Muttley. This show was standup comedy with nothing amateur about it. Bravo ladies, you made me laugh so hard, I cried a little.
The good news is that the
Bris Funny Fest runs through to this Saturday, so there is still time to catch some shows!
Jasmine Fairbairn has another show called
SWIMMING THE SEAS OF FAILURE 2 with special guests
Kira Kovalevsky, and
Simone Éclair at
Metro Arts on Saturday 31st of August Tickets are $15
You can catch
Emi Grace in
AMATEUR LIFE COACH with
Amanda Leigh,
Glenn Stephens at
Metro Arts on Saturday 31st of August.
The full list of shows are available one the Bris funny fest website https://www.brisfunnyfest.com/
Tickets are sold at the door or you can secure them at
https://www.stickytickets.com.au/
Go out, have a laugh and support these incredibly gutsy and talented people!
