Stand-up comedian and writer Abby Govindan is pushing 30.
She got her start in comedy at age 20, and has since enjoyed a meteoric rise thanks to internet virality and touring as a headliner for several colleges. . . While being a college student herself.
Abby's a comedic mainstay. She's sold out gigs in New York, DC, Chicago, San Francisco and Houston among others, and has amassed a following of more than 300,000 across social media.
She's fresh from a successful world tour, and has brought her show 'Pushing 30' to our shores. We catch up with her as she takes it around the country.
Tell us a bit about your show.
My new show 'Pushing 30' is about how I am the first generation of women on both sides of my family to have 100 per cent say in who I marry and if I even want to get married. I talk in the show about how everyone seems to be intrigued about my romantic life and my relationship status, and asking me when I’m getting married and having kids and how I feel like that’s a little bit reductive and kind of exploring the cultural implications of that, both in Indian society, in American society, and in larger society. I worked really hard on this show. I really want it to be universal and relatable, so I hope that you guys enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
You’re coming off a successful world tour. What’s it like to head out on stage to adoring crowds in so many different places?
I will tell you it is so extremely surreal. I think I’m still early enough in my career that I don’t take any of it for granted at all. If it continues on this upward trajectory, and the rooms get bigger and the schedule gets more packed, I’m sure I’ll get to a point one day where it’s just become a normal part of my life, but at this point, it’s just so amazing and meaningful that people will take time out of their days spending hard-earned money to buy a ticket and come watch me for an evening. And it especially means a lot to me that I can resonate with people across the world, across demographics, across genders, but it really means a lot to me when young South Asian women tell me that they feel seen by the things that I have to say on stage. And if in every single audience there’s at least one person who feels changed because of my performance, then it will have all been worth it, and I really hope that it never gets old. I really hope that I’m always grateful, and I really hope that I’m always optimistic about what the next steps of my career look like.
Who would you say you’re most inspired by in the realm of comedy or even entertainment/performance as a whole?
I was just deeply, deeply obsessed with stand-up comedy and comedy performance from a very, very young age. I watched Donald Glover’s special 'Weirdo' like 100 million times probably. I really liked Chelsea Peretti's stand-up specials. I really, really enjoyed Ali Wong's stand-up specials. I think I feel like the person who’s had the most influence on my joke writing is probably John Mulaney, because after I watched his specials, I realised that everything you say on stage needs to be like side-splittingly hilarious, or it's effectively just a waste of real estate. I really was changed by Hasan Minhaj's 'Homecoming King', because that's kind of how I learned that comedy doesn't just have to be comedy. It can also evoke emotions. I am a big fan of the UK comedy scene, of course, Nish Kumar, Sindhu Vee, Daniel Sloss, these are all such earth-shattering performers. I also am so moved by the spectacularness of the Indian comedy scene. I was a changed woman after I saw Kanan Gill’s first Amazon Prime special, it's just so hilarious. And every time you’re like barely recovered from a punchline that Kanan says, before he's already hit six or seven. It's like a brutal laughs-per-minute ratio. And I watched All India BakChod then East India Comedy growing up. I'm really, really inspired by a lot of the Indian comics currently on the scene, because I think they are just holding the standard for comedy so high. Anirban Dasgupta has a joke that I've sent to like everyone I know, about how his daughter has experienced two partitions, because she's Indian and she's also Bengali. And so I feel like I'm inspired by so many people, and it's so cool to meet other comedians. I'm really excited to come to Sydney Comedy Festival and meet even more comedians, because I know that I'll see some really good shows there, and I'll be even more inspired in the realm of comedy, and I'll have even more names to add to the list.
What are you happiest about when it comes to being back down under?
I am so excited to go surfing. I love surfing. Big, big scuba diver. So my family is flying out from Texas and we're all going to scuba dive the Great Barrier Reef together in between my runs at Melbourne and Sydney Comedy Festival. So I am just beyond, beyond excited. I think Australian people are really nice and friendly. I love the weather. I love that I can just always be in shorts. And I'm just really excited to connect with the audiences here. Last time I was here, there was just such a wealth of diversity, and the people who came out to see my shows, and the people who resonated with what I had to say, and I'm just excited to meet more fans. My run this time is longer than it was last time. I can't even articulate how excited I am to come back to Australia and do the full circuit.
Abby Govindan Tour Dates
9-19 April – The Greek (Melbourne International Comedy Festival)
23-26 April – Comedy Store (Sydney Comedy Festival)
2-3 May – The Rechabite (Perth Comedy Festival)
9-10 May – Brisbane Powerhouse (Brisbane Comedy Festival)
