At the end of our interview, social media sensation Anisa Nandaula assures readers that her show is “very, very funny” in a call to them to come along. After she chats with us, it’s apparent that the show won’t be just funny, but genuinely insightful.
Dating experiences, working in a bank and growing up in regional Queensland are just some of the stories that feature in You Can’t Say That, Nandaula’s tour debut.
“What inspired me to focus on those experiences is that they’re so different,” Nandaula says.
“Being a Ugandan in Rockhampton is a story that I have never heard before. I don’t know if there were any other black people there, because I didn’t see them. So I really wanted to share that story, because it’s unique, and it’s also influenced how I navigate the world.
“I would say that race shaped how I respond to things that happen to me, like race shaped dating, working at the bank, my relationships, my family. And when you’re talking about race and politics, especially experiences of racism, sometimes people feel bad for you, so they don’t laugh, or they’re too preachy, so they don’t laugh. I want to make them laugh, but I also want to tell my story.”
When it comes to giving new comedians an opportunity, platforms like TikTok and Instagram have revolutionised the industry. Nandaula is part of a new wave of comedians who have leveraged social media to grow their profiles and audiences, with over 200,000 followers on Instagram and 300,000 followers on TikTok. So just how has social media helped Nandaula grow her profile?
“I live in Queensland, and obviously not all stories are welcome, not all people are open to hearing stories from a black woman. But when I turn on my phone, I can tell stories on there,” she says.
“My audience is now the whole world and my audience expands. So it just gives me confidence that if a joke doesn’t work in Queensland, it doesn’t mean it’s bad.
“Previously, comedians became more mainstream by working the comedy clubs. You do shows every single night, and then you become famous. But now that’s not the case. You can have no comedy skills whatsoever and be famous and fill theatres all over the world, and then you learn the skills later. It flipped it on its head.”
Given the differences in both mediums, writing 30-second videos to a full-length stand-up set could be a challenge, but Nandaula, who has a background in slam poetry, hasn’t faced much trouble adapting to the shift.
“The difference with TikTok is, I think, ‘does this make me laugh?’ and then I say it, and if it does make me laugh, then 97% of the time it will go viral or it will do well,” Nandaula explains.
“But with a 60-minute show, that’s not the case. I say it doesn’t make me laugh. I share it with an audience. They say, ‘No, it doesn’t’. And then I repeat that joke about 300 times over and over and over again until the audience gets, sees it, and thinks it’s as funny as I did.
“My comedy is very heavily writing-focused. If you hear me do comedy, you can hear ‘oh, yeah, she’s a writer, she likes to write jokes’. Also, the way I try to captivate people’s attention on stage, I can tell if someone’s not listening to me, and I know what to do to bring them in.”
Anisa Nandaula – ‘You can’t say that’, Rhino Room, until 1 March