Urzila Carlson
MC
Multi-award-winning South African-New Zealander, Urzila Carlson, has become one of the biggest names in comedy in Australia and New Zealand.
Her trademark deadpan humour and cheeky wit has seen her win fans the world over for her television appearances and live shows. A touring powerhouse, Urzila has toured the globe and sells out live shows year after year.
In 2019, Urzila became the highest-selling comedian in the 33-year long history of The Melbourne International Comedy Festival, one of the three largest comedy festivals in the
world and made her Netflix debut as part of the streaming service’s unprecedented worldwide comedy series, Comedians Around the World which saw Urzila handpicked as was one of 47 comedians to perform a half-hour special filmed at Just For Laughs in Montreal.
Originally published in 2016, 2019 also saw the re-release of Urzila’s fascinating autobiography Rolling With the Punchlines, which added best-selling author to her evergrowing list of achievements.
An undeniable tour de force of the comedy world, Urzila hasn’t stopped since taking to the comedy stage in 2008. She has sold out seasons in London, Edinburgh, Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, Auckland, Wellington, Queenstown and Christchurch.
A television favourite in both countries, Urzila is a much-loved series regular on both the Australian and New Zealand versions of the award-winning comedy panel show Have You Been Paying Attention? And has appeared on Thank God You’re Here, Hughesy We Have A Problem, The Project, Spicks and Specks, Dirty Laundry, The Great Debate with Barry Humphries, ABC Comedy Up Late, 7 Days, Super City, Road Madness and the Melbourne International Comedy Festival galas. Urzila was also one of the key cast members of Nazeem Hussain’s comedy sketch program Orange is The New Brown which premiered on the Seven Network in 2018 to critical acclaim.
Urzila has earned an impressive array of awards, including 2019, 2022 & 2023 Melbourne International Comedy Festival’s prestigious People’s Choice Award; 2019 Rielly Comedy Award by the Variety Artists Club of NZ; Best Female Comedian at the New Zealand Comedy Guild Awards (no less than six times); New Zealand International Comedy Festival’s coveted People’s Choice Award (2014 & 2015); Sydney Comedy Festival’s Director’s Choice Award (2017); and was a nominee for Australia’s Helpmann Award for Best Comedy Performer in Furthermore, Urzila was the 2019 Australasian Ambassador of South African Tourism for both Australia and New Zealand, a great honour for the South African native.
In 2020, Urzila joined the dynamic panel of The Masked Singer Australia on Network Ten. The year also saw the release of Urzila’s standalone one hour Netflix stand-up special Overqualified Loser, which was recorded live in December 2019 and released in 190 countries.
Due to overwhelming demand, 2021 found Urzila returning to the stage across Australia & New Zealand with her stand up show Token African and back on screens as a panellist on season 3 of The Masked Singer Australia and a contestant on season 2 of Taskmaster NZ To add to the ever-growing credits, Urzila released her premiere podcast That’s Enough
Already! in 2021 that has shot to the top of the Comedy charts in Australia & New Zealand, winning best new podcast at the NZ podcast awards.
In 2022, Urzila toured throughout Australia & New Zealand to sold out crowds with her show, It’s Personal and in 2023 took the show to Montreal as part of the esteemed Just for Laughs festival and the UK, captivating sold-out audiences. Following this, she triumphantly returned to Australia with her new show, Just No! and added UK & Europe to round out the year.
In 2024, Urzila is poised to make her mark in the realm of feature animation by lending her voice to the character Honkus in the animated film Ozi. This exciting project boasts a starstudded cast, including Donald Sutherland, Laura Dern, Ru Paul, and Amandla Stenberg.
Furthermore, she will take on a world tour with her new show Just Jokes, touring UK, USA, Australia & New Zealand.
