Laura’s first time setting foot in The Playhouse. Photo: Supplied.
Canberra comedian Laura Johnston will experience a full circle moment on 30 January. After tumbling inadvertently into comedy as a local Year 12 student nearly a decade ago, Laura will perform in her bucket-list venue: The Playhouse at the Canberra Theatre Centre.
To boot, this one-night only show is being professionally filmed.
That’s … Brave unfolds the story of how Laura abandoned her job and plans to pursue a career in stand-up with absolutely no idea of what that might entail, and zero experience in it whatsoever.
As we chat, it becomes clear that, while the first taste of comedy was indeed an accident, Laura’s trajectory since then has been deliberate and ambitious. She has followed her five‑year plan to the letter, with this performance at The Playhouse as its final, defining culmination.
Nearly five years ago, she appeared in a group production at The Playhouse, and fell in love with the venue. “So,” she says, “I wrote eight post-it notes with a step on each note for how to get my own show in The Playhouse. The first note said: “Become a comedian.”
Laura is a musical and observational comedian. She admits that stand-up comedy doesn’t come naturally to her, but it’s a skill and a muscle she is exercising; kind of like funny boot camp every day!
She loves it so much, self-doubt, stage fright and hiccups along the way have never deterred her from her chosen course.
“Every time I bomb, I learn something. I see myself as an apprentice comedian; I’m always learning.”
Exhausted but happy at the end of the Edinburgh Fringe. Photo: C_for_clicked.
Laura follows a piece of advice she received from fellow comedian Marty Bright, right before an early gig in Lithgow: “He said, ‘Don’t think about any joke other than your very first one. Your job before a gig is to think about the first 10 seconds, the first 10 words you say.’ And that is something I have taken on. It works!”
Laura is brave, in fact, fearless may be an even better adjective to describe this artist, who keep her eyes on the goals she has set herself in order to continually hone her craft.
One particularly brave thing she did this year, was to be one of the artists on stage at the world’s largest performing arts festival, the Edinburgh Fringe before performing even once at a local fringe.
And to do 14 consecutive nights of a solo hour show, before ever having experience of doing two nights back-to-back! It was a hard slog financially, but Laura says the experience was addictive.
Distributing flyers during Edinburgh Fringe to help afford being there! Photo: Supplied.
“The best part of any arts festival is being surrounded by people who share your passion. It’s electrifying, going for a late-night kebab with someone who spent all their savings just to be there because they love doing comedy. On the last night, we all stayed up all night and watched the sunrise over Arthur’s Seat. Now I just have to work out how to keep making it happen.”
In the meantime, Laura is readying to tick ‘Perform at Canberra Playhouse’ off her bucket list. The ticket price is lower than most comedians at The Playhouse, she says. “Because you’re seeing me at the beginning you get to follow this journey from day one.
“I have two specific hopes for the show. I want people to leave feeling better than when they came in. And I want it to inspire people to take action in their own lives: I’ve had people come back and say, ‘Because I saw the show, I’ve done X,Y and Z.’ That’s incredible for me to hear.”
Laura hopes to sell 323 tickets for the filming, enough to create a vibrant and lively crowd fit for the filmed special.
“Even if I don’t sell the balconies, as soon as I hit 323, I’m happy.”
Well, we’ve got our tickets and cannot wait to see this talented and driven Canberra talent live out her dream.
Follow Laura on Instagram and TikTok to get to know her better before the show.
Laura Johnston: That’s…Brave (Bucket List Edition) is showing at The Playhouse on 30 January. Click here to get your tickets.
