New comedy festival promises a good laugh in the Hills
Claire Hooper, Mel Buttle and more Aussie comics will join Adelaide Hills locals in a new comedy festival next month.
More than 20 comedians will descend on the Adelaide Hills over three weekends in May for the inaugural edition of new comedy festival that hopes to remind people that “shared laughter is one of the simplest and most powerful things we have”.
The likes of Claire Hooper, Damian Callinan, and Dilruk Jayasinha will take part in A Good Laugh across seven venues including Nairne’s Tin Shed Distillery, The Cheese Factory in Meadows, and Prancing Pony Brewery over three weekends from Friday, May 1 to Saturday, May 16.
Organiser Louise Clarke of Bamboozled Productions says she hopes the festival will be a bright spot for locals.
“We live in a time where genuine human connection can feel harder and harder to find,” says Louise, also the festival director and producer.
“A Good Laugh is our answer to that – a festival that travels to where people already are, brings world-class comedy into their own backyard.”
You might like
An Adelaide Hills local, Louise jumped at the opportunity to bring the region an accessible event, particularly during the cost-of-living crisis. With unpredictable fuel prices a burden on regional and agricultural communities, she says, “If you want to see anything, you’re going up and down the hill and you’ve got parking which is so expensive.”
Looming large in her mind is also how world events are affecting mental health.
“I think also, given the current climate, we do all need a bit of a laugh,” she says.
Award-winning South Australian comedian Kel Balnaves says he grew up north of the Hills, close to the Barossa.
Subscribe for updates
“When I was younger, I used to play footy in all these towns and we hated them!”
Now, he has nothing but good things to say.
“To have Louise put something local together, I think it’s awesome. The Hills will get around it because they don’t have to track down to the city.”
He says Adelaide is a great environment to grow a comedy career, “We were able to perform with some real high-quality interstate or international comics that would come through Adelaide, and I feel like if you’re in say, Sydney or Melbourne, you probably wouldn’t have got that chance, because there’s a lot more competition.”
Louise says Adelaide’s smaller size gives it an edge over larger cities.
“Things can get a little bit lost [in a bigger city]”, she says.
“Adelaide is the second biggest Fringe in the world, and it’s a really great state to be able to kick off a new festival.”
A Good Laugh takes place across various venues in the Adelaide Hills from May 1 to May 16.
Want to see more stories from InDaily SA in your Google search results?
- Click here to set InDaily SA as a preferred source.
- Tick the box next to "InDaily SA". That's it.
