By Sofia Webster, Co-Deputy Editor
Rhys Nicholson is an award-winning comedian whose razor-sharp wit and unapologetically bold and flamboyant persona have earned them a well-respected spot in the comedy world. From a judge role on RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under to being a popular contestant on Taskmaster Australia, alongside a massively respected comedian on the stand-up scene, Rhys has captivated audiences across a wide range of platforms.
Ahead of Rhys’ arrival at Bristol’s Hen & Chicken Studio for their brand-new stand-up tour ‘Huge Big Party Congratulations!’, Epigram sat down with Rhys to talk about funny moments in their career thus far and any advice they have for stand-up comedians in the making!
Aside from being a regular fixture on primetime TV, Rhys has also co-founded indie comedy venue, Melbourne’s Comedy Republic, throughout the COVID-19 pandemic – which is now a well-loved theatre which has been performed in by hundreds of popular comedians and counting.
Speaking on their new tour, Rhys shared that it is (not clear to me if this is about the tour or Melbourne’s Comedy Republic - if its not about the comedy club then i would remove/move the previous paragraph as it seems out of place as second para) based around that premise of not really knowing what they are meant to be doing now they are married, especially as a queer person who never really expected to get married, all enveloped into a show packed with quick-witted jokes which they said was “the happiest I have been with a show, and I have done like 15.”
“The show is called Huge Big Party Congratulations because I got married last year and when we sent out the invites, my father-in-law replied in all capitals HUGE BIG PARTY CONGRATULATIONS with no punctuation, and I just thought it was quite a funny phrase. In terms of the show’s content, it is about not really knowing what I am meant to be doing now that I am married because as a queer person you did not grow up really thinking you would ever get married and is essentially an hour and a half of jokes based on this premise.”
Rhys spoke of his fondness of the Edinburgh Fringe having been going to the festival since they were 23, treating it almost as a second home full of stand-up comedy lovers and has garnered an audience who come back each year, and how they find British and Australian humour to match up immaculately – they joked that there can be “a different vibe” with their American audience and therefore jokes can often have a bumpier reception!
They joked that “we don’t take ourselves seriously in Britain or Australia and everything is dipped in irony whereas Americans are sincere to their cores.”
Nicholson is an incredibly talented, internationally acclaimed and versatile comedian, achieving success in a vast range of comedic fields and whose debut stand-up tour was awarded Most Outstanding Show at Melbourne International Comedy Festival in 2022. Alongside this, Rhys has added successful author to their portfolio, having also written food-focused memoir Dish: Spiels, Scoops, Emotional Outbursts and the Occasional Recipe in 2023.
To achieve this success takes a great amount of dedication, of which their main advice to aspiring comedians is “you can only do it by doing it - like Nike!”
“It was one of things people agonise over for years. You can most definitely do both studies and work on your comedy. Have five minutes and do it at an open mic somewhere, and you can just do the same five minutes, and you will get better. You are going to be bad at it at first, but with practice you will get better!”
Rhys Nicholson is performing their award-winning stand up show HUGE BIG PARTY CONGRATULATIONS at the Hen and Chicken on Wednesday 16th October – tickets can be found here.
Featured Image courtesy of Eimear Griffin
