Canadian comedian (say that three times fast) DeAnne Smith has amassed a fairly impressive following in her time as a stand-up. It’s brought her to festivals across the world, runs of sold-out shows and praise from critics and fellow comics alike. Still, as the saying goes, you can’t please everyone – as Smith quite humorously learned recently following an appearance at the 2017 Melbourne International Comedy Festival Gala.
“Somebody wrote on the Comedy Festival’s Facebook page,” she says. “It was something along the lines of, ‘Since when is giving a lesbian 15 minutes to rail against straight men considered comedy?’ It definitely wasn’t supposed to be funny, but it was absolutely hysterical. This guy had his little feelings hurt! It was funny, because there was so much [more] support for me than him. I think the page took the post down because it was just hundreds of comments berating this guy. It was also funny to me because the TV edit of my spot cut a very pertinent line: ‘I’m not speaking to all straight men – just those that are feeling particularly defensive right now.’”
I wanted to reflect the time that we’re in, where it’s increasingly difficult to just get up and tell jokes that don’t have any target – that are just purely there to be funny or silly.
Smith has no interest in letting the haters – well, hater, at least – get her down. She’s back in Australia to perform her latest hour of stand-up entitled Post-Joke Era. The title itself is intended to reflect the difficulty that many comedians are facing in what can only be described as troubling times. What’s more interesting, however, is the element of escapism that still informs Smith’s material for her 2017 run. “We have to title the shows in November, way before we even fully write or perform them,” she explains.
“Of course, that was around the time of the US election, so the name that immediately came to mind for me was Post-Joke Era. I wanted to reflect the time that we’re in, where it’s increasingly difficult to just get up and tell jokes that don’t have any target – that are just purely there to be funny or silly. There’s definitely an edge to what I’m doing, and there are definitely some targets I wanted to hit. Surprisingly, though, the show has ended up being really light-hearted. I’m really enjoying it this year – I think there’s stuff in there that will be enjoyable for most kinds of people. It’s also peppered with moments of complete absurdity and silliness, which I have a lot of fun performing. There’s a mini-roast, a double act and even some poetry in there.”
This is, of course, far from Smith’s first rodeo with Australian audiences. Having performed at the Adelaide Fringe, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, the Brisbane Comedy Festival and the Sydney Comedy Festival, Smith has become a natural fit with local audiences. She’s also performed as a part of the MICF Roadshow, in which several comedians undertake a tour off the beaten track through remote and regional parts of the country.
“I’ve been doing stand-up comedy for about ten years, and for the first six I came out to Australia every year,” says Smith. “I feel like a lot of my comedic sensibilities have been developed from all the time I’ve spent here. Through all of my festival seasons and my touring, I’ve watched and performed with some of the best comics I’ve ever seen. When people ask me about my favourite comedians, I immediately go to names like Hannah Gadsby and Rhys Nicholson – I just think they’re absolutely fantastic. I truly think there is something special about the Australian comedy scene. There is so much talent out here.” ■
DeAnne Smith’s show, Post-Joke Era is on at the Factory Theatre from Thursday April 27 until Sunday April 30.
