On 22 March Ballina’s Alexandra Hudson became the NSW RAW comedy finalist, and last Sunday she won the Australian RAW Comedy crown – well, she won half of it – she was the joint winner with Bron Lewis from Queensland.
To the absolute delight of audiences, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival’s RAW Comedy National Grand Final celebrated the freshest and funniest new talent from around the country. Hosted by Nikki Britton, 12 finalists from around Australia took place in the competition showcase at the Melbourne Town Hall.
In addition to being named the victors, Alexandra and Bron will laugh all the way to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where they’ll have a chance to compete in So You Think You’re Funny?
Thirty-four-year-old Hudson only started comedy in 2020 after doing one of Mandy Nolan’s stand up comedy workshops.
She got a taste for it, but then COVID hit and live gigs stopped. But that didn’t stop Alexandra, who also has Cerebal Palsy, from getting stage time.
When gigs came back on she was travelling to Brisbane and beyond to get experience doing free gigs.
Hudson was ecstatic winning the State final. ‘Last night was my 124th gig’ she said at the time.
It was a huge boost to her confidence to win the State final against 17 others. ‘I had no expectations. I don’t know anyone in Sydney in comedy. And last week I had COVID. I came out of lockdown on Monday and was worried I wouldn’t be able to perform properly.’
Clearly, she didn’t need to worry – Alexandra Hudson is proving to be a very funny woman. But for her this is more than just telling jokes. This is her claiming space as a woman with a disability.
‘I get a sense of pride being able to share a positive narrative about being disabled. I get to demonstrate I am proud of my disability. I am standing there talking about my disability. It is who I am.
‘When I am well received it feels like my disabled experience is being validated. I feel so worthy.’
Mandy Nolan went to Melbourne for the event. ‘It’s one of the highlights of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and I wouldn’t have missed it for the world!’
Mandy says it was such a great moment to see Alexandra win. ‘She was one of the last students I taught stand up to at the Byron College, so I felt like a proud mum’.
‘I had a feeling she would win. She just has that X factor that makes her not just funny but compelling.’
‘It was good to see the first prize shared between two women comics – they are good friends, so it isn’t that one got through and the other didn’t, and now they get to go to Edinburgh together.’
Mandy says it’s powerful to see a young woman display her disabled pride. ‘Her material really touches on subjects around how the non-disabled community do weird things… and not the other way around. It’s a great reframing.’
‘When you teach people comedy – this is the outcome you want to see, someone fulfilling their life’s dream. And Alex has that little bit of magic that only comes along every so often. She’s going to be huge. Mark my words.’
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