Urzila Carlson - Funny As Interview

Funny As Interviews – 2019

South African-born Urzila Carlson got her break in Kiwi comedy in 2008, after a workmate entered her in a stand-up competition. In this Funny As interview, Carlson talks about many topics, including:

Developing her sense of humour by listening to family members

Unknowingly entering a Raw Comedy Quest contest, with her first open mic show to an audience full of her co-workers

Turning to comedy full-time, after losing her advertising job in Auckland

Performing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and fulfilling her goal to perform at Just for Laughs, the world's largest comedy festival

How illness led to getting her break on hit TV show 7 Days

"Gag hags" flirting ludicrously with her after shows

Sometimes feeling like an outsider, through being South African in a "very tight-knit" comedy community

This interview was recorded for 2019 TV series Funny As: The Story of New Zealand Comedy. All audiovisual content is copyright to Augusto, and may not be reproduced. Publication of Funny As extended interviews made possible with funding from the NZ Lotteries Grants Board.

With stand-up, it’s just you, and you cannot have a down night. You’d better up your game. Those people are spending their hard-earned cash to come and see you be funny. And I like that aspect of it. And I like how immediate it is. You tell a joke, they laugh. If they don’t laugh, you fix it, you go in a different way.
– Urzila Carlson on why she loves stand-up comedy

Urzila's Full Profile