Meet the Comedy Zoners
- 01 January 0001
- ·
Nathan Chin (NSW)
Nathan is an Asian-Australian Oxford educated corporate lawyer who has turned to the only profession more narcissistic than the law - standup comedy. Ever since he started comedy two years ago, Nathan has performed at some of the best comedy clubs across Australia and recently won Raw Comedy 2024 for NSW, as well as appeared in the National Grand Final broadcast on SBS. However, Nathan's parents have only allowed him to quit being a lawyer if being a comedian pays the same. As such, Nathan looks forward to a very long a prosperous career in the law.
Your comedy in three words?
Smart but dumb
How will you be preparing for Comedy Zone?
I'll be performing in the Perth and Adelaide fringe festivals to refine my set for Comedy Zone, but other than that, I'll do what I've always been doing which is gigging and writing as much as possible!
Tell us your 2025 Festival wish?
It's the middle of MICF, I'm performing at a sold out Comedy Zone and have the best set of my life - every few seconds, the crowd roars with laughter. At the end of the show, amongst a sea of admiration and praise, I get a tap on my shoulder - an executive producer at Netflix is fully authorised to offer me a multi-million dollar three special and optional sitcom deal on the spot...then I wake up on an air mattress in my sharehouse living room.
Which is harder, practicing Iaw or comedy and why?
Comedy is way harder, which makes it so unfair that the legal industry is compensated about a trillion times more than comedy. To be a successful comedian, not only do you have to be funny, but you need to be original, marketable, entrepreneurial and constantly deal with failure and rejection. To be a successful lawyer, you just need to have an extremely high tolerance for boredom.
Rachael Hornbuckle (QLD)
Rachael Hornbuckle is one of the most exciting new talents in the Australian Comedy scene. Her dark humour and wicked timing spare no one with a demure delivery of hilarious punchlines you don't see coming ‘til they've knocked you to the floor.
Your comedy in three words?
Bold, Brash, Hornbuckle.
How will you be preparing for Comedy Zone?
100 push up’s and most likely sitting on public transport and listening to gronks at 7am trying to make a pass at me and spinning that into comedy gold.
Tell us your 2025 Festival wish?
I’m actually a massive comedy nerd so the goal is the catch as many shows as I can and be on even more line ups.
What is the bravest / stupidest thing you’ve ever done?
Be female in 2025, apparently.
Omar Gad (NT)
Omar from Darwin. Underpaid lawyer, overhyped comedian, semi-retired boxer and undiagnosed accident waiting to happen. Other than that, a pretty normal guy. Omar likes long brisk walks on freshly dried beach and is an avid hobby gardener of succulent tropical flora. Omar dreams that one day he will be like Steve from work (Steve has a boat). Omar also wishes to one day make peace with the dark thoughts that threaten to destroy him.
Describe your comedy in three words?
Dark, smiley, absurd?
How will you be preparing for Comedy Zone?
10km runs, ice baths and mindfulness breathing exercises.
Tell us your 2025 Festival wish?
I didn’t realise we got wishes but I wish for unlimited wishes but if that isn’t allowed then I wish to make everyone laugh at the festival and to grow and improve my craft and perhaps as a side wish to be the victim of a small crime to make me feel alive and keep me humble and grounded.
What is you best story from the Edinburgh Festival?
Also got to link up and have a moment with Amy Hetherington, an amazing comedian from my hometown of Darwin. She put me on for my first gig ever in December 2023 and we both were performing at the Edinburgh fringe some months later partying up at the SYTYF after party. Pretty ethereal stuff.
Instagram: @omargad.no
Facebook: Omar Gad Comedy
TikTok: @omargadno
Tarsh Jago (VIC)
Tarsh is a proud Palawa woman living in Narrm. Cheeky yet charming, she’s a quick witted storyteller who intersects her queer and First Nations identities with a tenacious spirit.
Describe your comedy in three words?
Cheeky, Gentle and Quick
How will you be preparing for Comedy Zone?
Writing by the beach and soaking up time with (and content of) loved ones
Tell us your 2025 Festival wish?
My 2025 Festival Wish is to perform to some big audiences and bring joy to the room
When you were younger, who was your comedy hero?
Rebel Wilson on Fat Pizza
What is the bravest / stupidest thing you’ve ever done?
Reverse parked on Smith St is probably both
Stella Kappos (SA)
Stella Kappos has no self-respect and craves attention. Her architectural background, combined with her practice of memory politics and body agency, informs her stand-up. Unapologetically elusive, she rarely offers context or explanations, feeling no need to elaborate, especially since she doesn’t really know you like that.
Your comedy in three words?
Frazzled jazz singer.
How will you be preparing for Comedy Zone
Performing? No, telling jokes, doing all the spots, getting amongst it. I've been taking bites out of the drywall in the femme toilets at the Rhino Room every time I bomb. It's positive punishment training. I think it's working.
Tell us your 2025 Festival wish?
To enjoy the process and find myself. Life’s kind of crazy.
What type of building would you dream of constructing if resources were unlimited?
TUBBYTRONIC SUPAAAADOMEEE! I would build a 1:1 replica of the Tubbytronic Superdome from the Teletubbies. There’s a special place in the abyss for the people who allowed this glorious celebration of madness to be clobbered and converted into a pond.
