EdFringe Talk: Laura Davis: If This Is It

“I lost my home, my job, almost all my possessions, some family members and a couple of dear friends in this pandemic. Also a pretty good vacuum cleaner but it’s obviously not at the top of the list.”

WHO: Laura Davis

WHAT: “Most Outstanding Show nominee at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2022. Laura Davis is internationally acclaimed as one of the strongest, most distinctive comedy voices around. Bold, hilarious and razor sharp, Davis delivers extraordinary stand-up that subverts expectation at every turn.”

WHERE: Monkey Barrel Comedy (Carnivore) – Carnivore 1 (Venue 180) 

WHEN: 16:00 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!


Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

This isn’t my first festival and I’ve never been to a rodeo. I’ve been doing these kinds of month long festivals for about 15 years. What makes a good one is two things for me. 1. a genuine sense that you made the best piece of work you possibly could and got to share it. 2. spending a month with a shuffled roulette of old and new friends, eating baked potatoes, laughing about anything and griping about all the problems we chose for ourselves.

What are the big things you’ve learned since 2019 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?

I lost my home, my job, almost all my possessions, some family members and a couple of dear friends in this pandemic. Also a pretty good vacuum cleaner but it’s obviously not at the top of the list. Two and a half years later I still don’t have a home to go to and I’m trying to restabilise and gain back some ground.

I think I learned what’s worth holding onto, what I’m willing to sacrifice and for what. I learned what feels like it’s worth fighting for and what I really care about when it comes down to ugly end.

That of course is going to be sort of a different personal curation for everyone so there’s no quick quote to share on what those things should be. But I’ll live differently forever now. I think that’s okay.

Tell us about your show.

I wrote it. It was nominated for best comedy at Melbourne International Comedy Festival because I’m much funnier onstage than I am in interviews.

I’m taking it to Soho Theatre after this Fringe which always feels like a little bit of a magical venue. There’s also a shop near Soho Theatre called Cafe De Nata which just sells fresh Portuguese tarts so I’m pretty excited for after the show, too.

What should your audience see at the festivals after they’ve seen your show?

You don’t even have to wait until you’ve seen my show to see these shows as my show contains no required information to enjoy them.

Tom Mayhew, Danielle Walker, James Nokise, Josie Long and Alice Fraser. They all put so much consideration into the heart of their shows, so much attention to the detail of the craft and consistently produce unique and original work that I can’t bear to miss.


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+3 Interview: Laura Davis: Ghost Machine

“I still spend a lot of time in the Sainsbury’s looking at all the biscuit products that never made it to Australia.”

WHO: Laura Davis, Comedian

WHAT: “A show about life. Performed by a ghost. For the love of god. Laura Davis pushes into new ground in her internationally acclaimed, multi award-winning show Ghost Machine. Lauded as one of the strongest and most unique comedic voices around, Laura Davis is unconventional, cathartic and exhilaratingly hilarious. Ghost Machine sees audience members returning multiple times to celebrate this darkly honest, constantly surprising, existential extravaganza. Winner: Best Indie Show at Melbourne International Comedy Festival and Best Comedy at Melbourne Fringe. ‘An original and provocative hour in the company of a unique mind’ **** (List).”

WHERE: Underbelly, Cowgate – Belly Dancer (Venue 61) 

WHEN: 17:40 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!


Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

I came in 2017 for the first time to do my show ‘Cake in the Rain’ at Edinburgh and at Soho Theatre.

What’s the biggest thing to have happened to you since Festivals ’17?

I moved from Australia where I’ve lived all my life, to London where I’ve lived for six weeks now. I still spend a lot of time in the Sainsbury’s looking at all the biscuit products that never made it to Australia.

Tell us about your show.

I wrote and toured this show GHOST MACHINE in 2015 throughout Australia and have been performing it ever since. I also toured it to Kuala Lumpur and it’s very hot dressing up as a ghost in the jungle.

It won best independent show at Melbourne International Comedy Festival in 2015, and Best Comedy Show at Melbourne Fringe.

What should your audience see at the festivals after they’ve seen your show?

They should go and see Alice Fraser, ETHOS which is the show that I directed this year. They should also go and see James Nokise, over at The Stand.


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