Stereotypes are subverted and intersections of identities are navigated in 'GRIEF-SEX-RACE’.
Presented by Jess Karamjeet and Sophie Gibson, two queer, mixed-race immigrants with hidden disabilities, 'GRIEF-SEX-RACE' features stand-up and songs in an award-winning Kiwi musical comedy at Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
Jess is a screenwriter ('Neighbours') and Comedy Festival alum, while Sophie is a singer-songwriter celebrated for her creativity and talent. Guitar in hand, Jess navigates the awkward intersections of her identity while grieving the loss of her dear, departed dad. As well as performing in 'GRIEF-SEX-RACE', Jess Karamjeet also appears in the MICF line-up show 'Brown Women Comedy', alongside Sashi Perera, Kru Harale, Amna Bee and more.
Meanwhile, Sophie Gibson, an NZ ON AIR funded performer with more than a million Spotify streams, has made the ever-so-logical side-step into stand-up comedy.
Some say tragedy plus time equals comedy. . . And 'GRIEF-SEX-RACE' takes out the middle [wo]man. Audiences members have praised the show's lasting impression, as well as its ability to present grief through the lens of comedy.
Here, we speak to one half of the 'GRIEF-SEX-RACE' team, Jess Karamjeet. She discusses the show, its origins, and its importance.
Firstly, tell us a bit about ‘GRIEF-SEX-RACE’.
'GRIEF-SEX-RACE' is a comedy music show featuring ten original songs, plus a bunch of A-grade stand-up from me (Jess Karamjeet, NZ Comedy Trust’s One To Watch). There’s even a snippet of stand-up from duo partner Sophie Gibson, who’s a disgustingly talented singer/songwriter from NZ. She’s Scottish and Irish which means she’s naturally hilarious. . . No effort required. It’s actually a bit annoying. I’m also Scottish and Irish, but the Indian part of me did NOT think a career in stand-up comedy was appropriate, which means it took a bit of extra work to get to this point. It’s going swimmingly though, and I’m glad I didn’t become a lawyer like my brother. The show is about an actual 'GRIEF-SEX-RACE' which takes place on stage – it’s not just a combination of words we like. It’s weird, and kooky, and award-winningly-hilarious.
You’ve performed a few comedy gigs. What makes ‘GRIEF-SEX-RACE’ stand out?
I’ve been a stand-up comedian for four years, and had some career milestones in NZ, but 'GRIEF-SEX-RACE' has an extra-special place in my heart. I get to see one of my best mates go outside her comfort zone, and we make people laugh together. It feels like a huge gift to be able to share our songs and stories with people who’ve lost a loved one, and with those who will be better armed when the time eventually comes.
What inspired you and Sophie to put something like this together?
Honestly, being grief-y AF and drinking too many margaritas! Our 'GRIEF-SEX-RACE' origin story starts at a bougie Mexican restaurant in Auckland when we were ex-flatmates. I lost my dad to Motor Neurone Disease /ALS in 2020 and knew I needed comedy, creativity and music to get me through. Soph had a song about her brother, Scotty, who she lost to suicide in 2015 and, after seeing her make a crowd of music fans laugh during one of her gig segues, I knew Soph had the creative chops to become a stand-up and to join me on the 'GRIEF-SEX-RACE' journey. What came next was a skill-swap where we honed her jokes and wrote a bunch of duos around the themes of grief (and sex, and ‘race’). We developed the show over three months in 2022, remotely, while I was gigging in the UK and at Edinburgh Fringe (which was as hectic as it sounds!) We went on to debut it and win the Auckland Fringe Touring Prize, and the show has been developed and toured since. I’ve also done two solo comedy hours, but I missed my best mate. There’s nothing quite like sharing a cheeky glance in between songs, getting each other through the lows, and re-living the post-stage highs of tour.
In general, how have your experiences as queer, mixed-race immigrants with disabilities shaped who you are as people over the years?
Soph and I have a ten-year age gap (I’m South-Asian. Yeah, I look great for my age) and this means we’re at different points on our journeys – yet we’re both song-writing, joking and creating from places of authenticity. This hasn’t been an easy or straight-forward path for us as female comedians, let alone as neurodivergent women with additional invisible disabilities, but we’re navigating what it means to perform and hustle through a festival while tending to our individual needs. It’s really great that the MICF highlights shows from deaf/disabled performers, because it’s often those shows that take a bigger unseen toll on artists, and need extra support from audiences.
Why do you think a show covering the themes of grief, sex and race are important?
Okay, you got me! As well as race referring to the ‘grief-sex-race’ which takes place during the show, ‘race’ does also refer to me being a Woman Of Colour. 'GRIEF-SEX-RACE' hones in on taboo issues which a range of people can connect to, and we use the show as a way to talk about our cultural differences as well as similarities during our grief journeys. It’s so important for there to be a range of acts and perspectives within comedy, because we are more likely to connect with comedy if we relate to it. Why should straight, white dudes be the ones who get to laugh the most?! Festivals are still overwhelmingly dominated by those types, and it’s a battle to be taken seriously within male-dominated comedy spaces, so we hope 'GRIEF-SEX-RACE' offers an alternative for audiences with an appetite for something very different.
What are you most excited for about playing it for MICF audiences?
There are five million people in New Zealand. . . So the sheer size of Melbourne means that we can meet more audience members! Also, no shade to the aforementioned straight, white dudes who want to come (hey! You earn more $ than us, so spend it here!) but there’s something extra special about connecting with a range of intersectional people who don’t see themselves, or their taboos, on stage or within comedy. We last performed 'GRIEF-SEX-RACE' at the Good Times Comedy Club in Christchurch and it was maybe the equivalent of playing a comedy gig in rural Tasmania? We’re excited to connect to the queers, BIPOC and the disabled communities because, quite simply, there are more of them here!
What has been the biggest challenge in putting it together?
Ha, well it wouldn’t be a show about grief without acknowledging where our pain comes from. At times – especially around birthdays and anniversaries – we have to give each other a head’s up and ask for help to get through. That said, the show is what makes us feel better and gets us through those tougher times. There’s no feeling quite like making a room full of people laugh because of our memories, perspectives and creativity. Soph and I are both also very lucky since my dad Jim and her brother Scotty were both musicians, guitar players, and Celtic men. . . ! Which means they were hilarious and brave, and paved the way for us. Whether what we say or sing is earth-shatteringly cheeky, taboo or down right salacious – they’re laughing alongside us.
What sorts of music can we expect to hear?
We can guarantee every audience member will leave 'GRIEF-SEX-RACE' humming at least one of ten absolute bangers. How do we know? Well, Soph is a full-time, professional singer-songwriter (SophieGibsonMusic) and has a huge back-catalogue of styles from Scottish/Irish folk to pop and a whole lot in between. Her collaborations with Indian musicians also mean she’s gone viral within the Desi community (!) In my previous ADHD half-life, I trained as a jazz singer and our songs are infused with different contemporary styles, catchy hooks and (need we say?) hilarious lyrics.
How do you hope audiences respond to the work?
We know from previous iterations that people find the show uplifting and cathartic, and that it alleviates some of the shame and guilt around what ‘should’ be felt or done when grieving. We hope audience members continue to treat themselves with compassion, whatever their grief journey may be. My South-Asian community responds to death and grief in a different way to Soph’s Scottish and Irish family, but we’re united by the desire to honour our loved ones and to remember how to enjoy life in spite of deep pain. For those who haven’t lost a loved one, the show is a peek into the minds of two ‘musically talented and very funny’ performers whose perspectives and backgrounds rarely grace the comedy fest circuit.
You’re also appearing in the line-up show ‘Brown Women Comedy’. Tell us about this.
'Brown Women Comedy' is one of a handful of offerings at MICF featuring women from the South-Asian diaspora, which is unbelievable! I’m thrilled to be on the bill and to build on my similar community initiatives back in New Zealand – I run the Pan-Asian Comedy School Aotearoa (New Zealand) and love seeing the next crop of creatives come through and on to the stand-up stage. I’m chatting to 'Brown Women Comedy' Producer Daizy Mann to support the Australian South Asian Centre with a similar scheme, so watch this space!
Describe ‘GRIEF-SEX-RACE’ using a song lyric from the show.
'Funk the grief away. . .'
'GRIEF-SEX-RACE' plays Queen Victoria Women's Centre 27 March-6 April, and Club Voltaire 7-18 April (Melbourne International Comedy Festival).
