Australian comedian Alice Fraser, is using her craft to keep the world smiling and entertained while we endure two major worldwide pandemics; Covid-19 and fighting systematic racism.
Australian comedian Alice Fraser, is using her craft to keep the world smiling and entertained while we endure two major worldwide pandemics; Covid-19 and systematic racism. Fraser typically lives in London and was preparing for a huge festival tour that was meant to begin in Australia this past March and end at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August, however, due to public health concerns the events/tour has been cancelled.
Fraser was raised Buddhist by her father, Michael, who practiced the religion and Judaism as well, and her mother, Lucy, who found that Buddhism and meditative practices helped ease her multiple sclerosis symptoms; Lucy had the disease for 33 years of her life before she passed away in 2015.
Fraser originally was a corporate lawyer who studied at Cambridge when she decided one day to start pursuing a career in comedy, writing, and public speaking. Now, she’s currently quarantined with her father in a rental in Sydney, Australia; her dad was working and living at a meditation center before the pandemic. When it comes to her own personal beliefs, Fraser says she still actively meditates, especially now, but doesn’t claim a religious title. When it comes to the pandemic, she’s ready to offer up her skills to ease the world’s anxieties as much as possible.
“It’s so awful, it’s so daunting, but there’s things you can and there’s things you can’t do. I’m doing the things that I can do in order to not be eaten by the things I can’t do.”
As previously mentioned Fraser originally landed in Australia in March to kick off her comedy festival tour. The festival, along with a majority of Australia’s cultural institutions, have been indefinitely shut down until we have more answers about the current health crisis the planet is enduring. She credits her ability to maintain a positive attitude and demeanor to coping with the loss of her mother and caring for her for so many years while she was growing up.
“My mum was sick when I was growing up, you just get very used to that ‘Oh god, we’re all gonna die’ attitude. You need to do the things you can do to help people you can help and really, when you hit that limit, be able to step away and not chew over it 1,000 times a night.”
Fraser was in her late twenties when her mother died in 2015, and she turned that tragedy into one of her most successful shows as a comedian to date. Her most famous show was titled “Savage” and the basis of her performance revolved around growing up with a sick mother. She discussed the “weirdness of happy funerals” while also paralleling it to her struggles as a woman in modern society.
When Covid-19 was officially declared a worldwide pandemic, fellow comedian Sami Shah made a public statement in which he claimed: “If anyone [has] figured out how to use this opportunity to create new audiences and connect in a meaningful way, it’s Alice.” And he wasn’t wrong, starting in March Fraser began doing a nightly live show on Instagram called “Whatever This Is.”
“It turns out straight standup doesn’t work very well without feedback [so I] chat with friends, comedians, podcasters, all kinds of people.”
This January Fraser also began hosting a daily 15-minute podcast called The Last Post, which is meant to be a satirical look at the media and news in general.
“I’ve always been a big believer in creative constraints, and that creativity flourishes when your options are limited. I get paid every day when most of my friends sat down with their agents three months ago and went ‘the next six months is cancelled. You have nothing’. So many of my friends are now driving for supermarkets or Uber driving or delivering food.”
She also uses her platforms to discuss her distaste in the federal government’s lack of support for the creative arts during this pandemic, leaving hundreds of thousands of artists struggling financially. Alice has made constant pleas and calls to the government to expand the payout programs that give citizens $1,500 every two weeks, as these payments are denied to almost every worker in the arts and entertainment industry.
“I genuinely cannot wrap my head around why the government is not giving it the support that it is giving other industries.”
For now, Fraser continues to live out her days in Australia, interacting with her following, discussing the issues plaguing this world currently, and offering up some fresh comedy bits to help ease everyone’s anxieties for a few minutes of the day. She does go for daily walks and fantasizes about the days when she can perform on stage again, however, she claims she won’t be willing to do so until she knows her audience will feel comfortable and it’s safe to be in close proximity with others again.
If you want to check out Alice’s daily Instagram show or podcast, click here!
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.
