Stand up and be amusing

STRUGGLING stand-up comedians are determined to cope through the pandemic the only way they know how: with laughter.

Hamish Levis is one of Tassie’s most promising comedic talents. Two weeks ago, he beat out 21 entrants to become the Tasmanian RAW Comedy state finalist, qualifying for the national final.

But with all gigs called off until further notice, Hamish said he and the stand-up community was feeling “empty”.

“We always look forward to the next show,” he said.

He said comedy was helping “a lot of people get through a dire time”.

To stay sharp, he has started learning music in the hopes of one day performing musical comedy. “I’ve written so many coronavirus jokes,” he said.

“I work in a bottle shop and every time someone buys a case of corona they’ll say, ‘This isn’t the one with the virus, is it?’ And then I laugh and cough.”

Comedian Gavin Baskerville, who helps run Joker’s Comedy Club, said there was a greater risk of comedians experiencing depression during the “tough time”.

He said podcasting, streaming, uploading to Instagram and sharing memes was keeping comedians busy, but failed to replace the real thing.

“People might snicker a bit, but it’s not that same endorphin rush of group laughter,” he said.

“To have the audiences taken away kills the main thing we need.

“Even in recessions in the past people have been able to gather, so comedy thrived in that time.”

He said many comedians were making more jokes than usual to cope and view the crisis through a different lens.