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[title]Rhys Nicholson has a bone to pick, and that bone is with Pentridge Cinemas. The former prison in Melbourne has recently transformed into a boutique cinema and market, another notch on the belt of gentrification that has left the comedian befuddled. “It only stopped being a prison in the '90s, and now people are getting their organic apples there!” they exclaim. “People will do anything these days.”
Luckily, one of the many things people will do “these days” is flock to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. From March 29 to April 23, the city will be chock-a-block with all things comedy. International performers like Daniel Sloss, Mark Watson and Joanne McNally will take to the stage alongside homegrown talent like Anne Edmonds, Reuben Kaye and the nation’s red-headed darling: Rhys Nicholson.
Last year, Nicholson was crowned one of the winners of the festival and took home the prestigious accolade for Most Outstanding Show for five-star show Rhys! Rhys! Rhys! Now, they are back for a one-off performance on April 15, so there’s no need to book pilates that day; your abs will get enough of a workout.
Born in 1990 in Newcastle, New South Wales, Nicholson began to dabble in comedy in their teenage years, where they were inspired by the likes of American comedian Paul F Tompkins and Maria Bamford. “I used to go up to Sydney from Newcastle on the train and do open mics,” Nicholson tells me from their Coburg house. “I would finish school, get up on the train and be back before midnight. I then started going to MICF and staying in backpackers hostels to cram in as many shows as I could.”
Nicholson speaks about the MICF with a sort of fondness that stems from a long-term friendship that has stood the test of time.
I’m a child of that festival. I’ve gone through every stepping stone, from watching the shows, doing RAW comedy to hosting the gala
Winning the 2022 Most Oustanding Show was a total “full-circle” moment for the stand-up comedian, who gives a sermon-like praise on why the MICF is such an important and useful tool for aspiring comedians – hear hear!
Reflecting on their career, which has seen an indomitable rise in recent years, Nicholson is ruminative about the people who have helped them along the way, like comedian Wil Anderson. These days, Nicholson is a multi-award-winning stand-up comedian, panel judge, writer and podcaster who has starred in everything from a Netflix special to shows like The Imperfects.
To give back and nurture burgeoning talent, Nicholson co-founded the Comedy Republic in March 2020 with their partner Kyran Wheatley and fellow comedian Alex Dyson. “We have a green room at the Comedy Republic, and no other clubs have this in Melbourne,” they point out. “It’s basically a place to hang out and meet other comedians. At shows, you’re either crammed at the back at a noisy bar or in the audience; there’s no real place to meet. I wanted to create a place where an aspiring 20-something comedian could rub shoulders with Denise Scott.”
As we gear up for MICF season, does the veteran comic have any tips and tricks for festival first-timers? “Go out and see as many shows as you can! I learnt so much about being a comedian by going to live shows. It may seem like a basic thing to say, but just go and see as much as you can, as it can take a long time to realise what makes you funny.”
When they are not cracking jokes on stage with their signature blend of dry humour and wit as razor-sharp as their cheekbones, Nicholson is a judge on the hit show RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under. What was it like finding out they had landed one of the hottest seats in showbiz?
“It was fucking wild,” they state. “When I found out, it was a proper surprise. There was a long list of prospective judges, and my agent told me not to get my hopes up. I was meant to be going into the jungle for I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, but it got bumped.
In retrospect, it worked out even better, and I didn’t have to eat a pig's anus
Nicholson – who came out as non-binary in 2022 and now uses they/them pronouns – has always been passionate about the world of drag, so much so that they even had a podcast about it before becoming a judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race. “I had to quietly take it down for the same reason I got rid of my Twitter from when I was 17; who knows what’s out there,” they say (a concern that will strike a chord in anyone with a bank of cringe-worthy tweets from yesteryear).
While many will cite RuPaul’s Drag Race for putting drag back on the map, the art form has existed for centuries. From the Tang Dynasty to the Shakespearean era up to the RuPaul renaissance, drag has always been a fiercely creative act and a powerful form of self-expression that is timeless. What’s something they wish people knew about the art form?
“That it’s in every town! Even in the outback. Broken Hill has one of the biggest drag festivals in the world. I also think drag is similar to stand-up comedy in the sense that it differs in style and varies from place to place.
[Drag] is so much more nuanced than people think and that it’s not only just available to watch on Stan, it’s happening live everywhere and deserves everyone’s support
Nicholson still has to pinch themself that they are a judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under. He elaborates: “It’s such a privilege to get to sit on that panel; I can’t believe I get to watch lip-syncs for a job. I’ve almost broken a chair before because I get so excited watching it all unfold.
“Michelle and Ru have been doing it for 15 years, so they’ve seen everything, but I still get so excited, which is why I think of myself as a sort of conduit for fans on the show. That probably makes me a terrible judge, but I really do rarely have very negative things to say; it’s more about saying how they can improve.”
When they are not doing stand-up comedy or being a panel judge, how does Rhys Nicholson like to spend their time out?
“My partner and I are dinner people these days, and it also helps to have a bar you own in the city. The place we go to the most would probably be Etta on Lygon Street. If we’re looking for something super nice, it has to be Gimlet, which may be a basic bitch thing to say, but it’s so good. Also, Attica is genuinely the greatest food experience I’ve ever had – there are ants in the pepper grinder! It has a real connection to native Australian foods and a connection to Indigenous leaders. Other than that, Comedy Republic! Comedy Republic! Comedy Republic!”