Tag: Emma Holland

Emma Holland – Don’t Touch My Trinkets

By Bella Jones

Are you an adult who misses the experience of getting a lucky dip at your local fair? Unsure what exactly you were going to get but certain it would be something exciting? Emma Holland might just be the comedy equivalent of that.

Don’t Touch My Trinkets is a visit to Holland’s own personal art gallery, one where she is allowed to handle the exhibits as much as she wants. The audience follows her journey through some of the art mediums she tried before ending up in comedy. Holland is a master at combining the absurd with the ordinary, the result? An hour of comedy that ranges from physical gags, tech, and traditional storytelling, plus just about everything in between.

Emma Holland is in demand, appearing on and writing for The Cheap Seats, Have You Been Paying Attention? Most recently she wrote for the AACTAs. Her latest comedy show proves why her impressive CV is no surprise.

This show is intensely, cleverly written. It’s almost exhausting just how many jokes Holland has managed to fit in, as she ties together stories from childhood, casual sexism and genuine enthusiasm for nearly every form of art.

One of Holland’s most impressive talents lies in the fact that a quick dick joke feels perfectly at home next to biting social commentary. All building towards an ending that was a festival highlight for me. Unafraid to move quickly she easily keeps the audience on their toes with a determined passion and clear understanding of exactly what kind of performance she wants to give. Not that it’s hard to keep the room’s attention, Holland has a clear audience and sold out shows night after night prove just how much her niche is connecting with the right people.

Emma Holland’s brain seems like an incredible place to spend even an hour in, it’s always a treat to get to experience it.

Emma Holland performs Don’t Touch My Trinkets at ACMI til April 20

https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/browse-shows/emma-holland-don-t-touch-my-trinkets/

Emma Holland: Here Comes Mr. Forehead

By Lisa Clark

As we enter the room, we are welcomed by a chirpy, friendly Emma Holland doing circles on the stage on an electric scooter with a toy monkey attached to her helmet while behind her on the big screen a real monkey rides a large dog, herding goats, from a video titled “Most Disrespectful Moments in Football”. Strap in.

Silly and sardonic, Emma is a gagmeister and this show is choc full to the brim with juicy gags, tomfoolery and wisecracks. She sets ’em up with precision, knocks ’em into the goal and the payoffs aren’t always immediate. Still, in amongst the sight gags, songs about Moby, props, PowerPoint silliness she has some solid domestic standup relating to recently getting married, though she cannot help but put her theatrical style into it. She proves that she is also great at telling stories, though this is not a “storytelling” sort of show per se. She’s not going to make you cry or take you on a long heartbreaking journey but we still learn some really interesting stuff about her life and childhood.

Emma’s comedy does not appear to be political, but she makes it clear where she stands, so in amongst all the silliness when she says something political once or twice it can really make the audience gasp as they laugh. Her feminism is not hitting you over the head, it’s just there, adding strength to some of her funniest bits.

There is a LOT of tech in this show (ACMI is the best spot for this) and it runs beautifully but there is a vibe that if the power were to fail her, Emma could give us a fantastic hour of comedy without it. So polished is the show, that Emma seems relaxed and able to muck around going off on a tangent to chat with a friend in the crowd, keeping it funny and making this a unique night for us.

Emma Holland has been doing comedy, mostly in Brisbane, for a few years now and was runner up in RAW 2018. She writes for TV and sometimes appears on the shows she writes for, such as Have Your Been Paying Attention and more importantly for me, co-hosting The Cheap Seats with Melanie Bracewell proving that two women can host a TV comedy show successfully and the world doesn’t explode.

As I’ve not seen Emma develop gradually in small rooms, she wows me as a confident, fully formed comedian and her show is bloody wonderful. Having been noticed and employed by Working Dog means I shouldn’t be surprised that she is very talented, but Here Comes Mr. Forehead really blew me away. Emma Holland is a new star in the making.

Here Comes Mr. Forehead is on at ACMI until April 21

https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2024/shows/here-comes-mr-forehead#