For Jelin Palm (far left), comedy is more than a “shared hobby”. In fact, it’s the basis for her new show with fellow comedians, husband Nick and friends Mark and Sarah Stewart. Photo: Supplied.
By day, Jelin Palm is a public servant. By night, she’s working with three friends to create a comedy show about the challenges of marriage.
She first met Sarah Stewart at an open mic competition in Kingston, which she won with (in her words) “no comedy experience whatsoever”.
But it was just the start – she’s gone on to perform at sold-out festival shows and supported comedians such as Dave Hughes, Peter Helliar and Akmal.
“We, Sarah and I, were talking about doing a show together and we thought to bring our husbands along,” Jelin says.
For the show, called Wedding Ring, suffeRing, the women are bringing husbands Nick and Mark onto the stage in a joint show about the differences between a 12-year and a 40-year marriage.
“Our husbands are funny, too,” Jelin jokes.
“We thought it would be really interesting to put a show together to talk about the stages of marriage. With each of us, there’s clashing cultures, different cultural backgrounds [and] living here. There’s different challenges for Mark and Sarah.”
For Sarah, who has worked as a nurse, midwife and consultant, turning to her relationship in her professional life was a new experience.
She says that her parts of the show are built on “what we do at home”, but it hasn’t come without its challenges.
“For me, bantering is one thing – actually writing [comedy] is another,” she says.
“It’s a performance, just like any performance, and there’s quite a science behind it. It’s even looking at how a sentence is structured, to make sure that the sentence ends on a funny word.
“You’ve got the premise, the set-up, the punchline. There’s quite a science.”
Sarah says working with husband Mark has been a unique experience.
“I’m a control freak – I like to know what I’m saying. I like to practice it at lots of open mics … Mark is off the cuff.
“We’re quite different [in comedy] and we’re different as people.”
The show has some crowd work (with Jelin teasing a dance by the comedians), but fellow public servant Nick says the show isn’t intended as a therapy session.
Instead, it’s a slice of real life – with a funny twist.
“What we’re trying to portray in this show is shared experiences in relationships that people go through, hoping that it’ll resonate with people,” he said.
“That’s the funny side of the issues that you might experience in love, marriage or relationships. There’s when it’s tough, but when you laugh about it, it makes it a bit lighter.”
That need for laughter is echoed by Mark.
“I think that a really important thing is to have fun – to smile, to have a laugh about situations, because none of us are getting out of this alive.”
Wedding Ring, suffeRing is set to take to the stages at Adelaide before coming to Canberra for two shows during the upcoming comedy festival.
Sarah says it is “absolutely” her dream to bring the show to other locations, building on her existing touring experience.
“Our dream is to go for a big lap round Australia, sleep in a swag. We’ll have to find ways of paying for our fuel [with the shows].
“That’s something I would love to do.”
Wedding Ring, suffeRing will be performed at the Canberra Comedy Festival on 18 March and 19 March. The shows will be held at the Street Theatre (Streeet Two), 15 Childers Street in Canberra. Tickets at $25 are available online. Admission is recommended for those aged 15 and over due to adult themes.
