Laughter is best medicine for comic
Online gig helped deal with disappointment
A Perth-raised comedian is hoping to spread some laughter after recording one of her hit Edinburgh Fringe Shows.
Samantha Hannah has now released ‘How to Find Happiness in a Year’ online.
And she says the process has helped her deal with the mental difficulties of the past few months.
The show, which she performed at the Fringe last year, was a follow up to ‘How to Find a Husband in a Year’.
And a measure of her success in the earlier enterprise is that the video was filmed in front of a live audience of one - Toby, the man she met on her search for love and now lives with in London.
Samantha reckons finding happiness is perhaps an even more ambitious challenge and the show takes her through the world of self-help books and even into the fine details of the UN’s World Happiness Report.
Samantha said: “I think a lot of people need some laughter in their lives right now and with events like the Fringe cancelled, and comedy clubs in crisis, that’s not always easy to come by.
“And I feel that making the video totally saved my sanity during lockdown.
“Things had been going well and I had given up my full time job at the start of the year to fully go for it comedy wise. Then three days into my new part time job I was furloughed and all comedy was cancelled by that point too.
“I’d done a big crowdfunder earlier this year and had planned a brand new show for the Edinburgh Fringe and now that was cancelled too. I felt so lost.
“Then I decided I would make something myself. It got me through a tough time. Now it’s out there and I’m no longer furloughed either.”
The video, which updates her 2019 Fringe show, explores many aspects of happiness, from passion and romantic love through to finding contentment and learning to be comfortable with yourself.
Samantha shares pearls of wisdom that she has picked up – including the benefits of stopping being embarrassed when you do something ridiculous and thinking of yourself as a “big emotional Weeble”.
And ultimately her biggest personal discovery is that what makes us most happy is connectedness – our meaningful relationships with others – something many people are hoping to rediscover and reinforce as the country starts to come out of lockdown.
Catch the show at https://nextupcomedy.com/ samanthahannah/
I decided I would make something myself. It got me through a tough time.