The matriarch of Honk Kong comedy is finally landing in Melbourne for her debut at the comedy festival. Maitreyi Karanth is here with her bold new show Maitriarchy, a hilarious deep dive into midlife, marriage and everything in between. We were thrilled to chat about reinvention, relationships and finding the funny in life’s next chapter.
Your upcoming show is titled Maitriarchy, are there any women in comedy you look up to or draw inspiration from? I never grew up to comedy. There is therefore an innocence to my comedy. I can’t say there is anyone in comedy I look up to but I do love the comedy of Urzila (Australia) and Sarah Silverman.
Was there a particular moment or experience that sparked the idea for Maitriarchy? The name Maitriarchy actually came from a fellow comedian and producer who once had me headline his show. He said, “Your name is Maitreyi and you’re the Matriarch of Hong Kong comedy — let’s call it Maitriarchy!” I loved it and later asked his permission to keep the name. It just stuck — and it fits perfectly!!
What was the process like of writing Maitriarchy? Completely spontaneous! Most of my jokes come to me in the spur of the moment — they’re stories from life, exaggerated and sometimes literally written in my sleep. Once, I walked out of Australian immigration, had an idea, and immediately ran to the toilet to jot it down before I forgot it. That’s pretty much my process
Marking your long awaited Australian debut, what’s a spoiler for the show that won’t make sense until you see it? I will read a page from my unwritten novel. Have to be there for it to make sense
What would you like the audience to learn from Matriarchy? It doesn’t matter whether you are a man or woman, if you have really lived, absorbed the world around you and beyond, opened yourself to new experiences and are willing to talk and share about it, you walk out with a sense of empowerment.
What excites you most about performing at this year’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival? This will be my first festival with a solo show, and I’m so excited! I’m here for the full experience — to meet people, share laughter, and just be part of this beautiful creative chaos. I also can’t wait to catch the live show of Nazeem Hussain!
Why should people come and see your show? They will relate, be able to laugh at themselves and in the end walk out with a high. An hour of transportation to an alternate universe!
Anything else you would like to add? The world needs laughter now more than ever. Whether it’s my show or someone else’s — just go out, watch, laugh, and let yourself be entertained. For us comedians, it’s a privilege to bring you joy — and we’ll be right there, waiting to make you laugh
You can catch Maitreyi Karanth at Ballers in Melbourne’s CBD from Tuesday 7th April to Sunday 19th April, tickets on sale now from here.
