![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Laura-2.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Laura Johnston\u2019s comedy show has hit the stage in regional NSW and Edinburgh \u2013 and now it\u2019s coming to her hometown. Photo: c_for_clicked.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019ve seen Laura\u2019s social media posts asking to meet new people, she really means it.<\/p>\n
The comedian is looking to meet hundreds of her fellow Canberrans before Christmas so she can invite them to her comedy show.<\/p>\n
\u201cI ended up helping a lady move house. \u2026 I helped another group of people with a wedding party where we went outside and weeded their backyard to convince them to buy tickets.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s about getting my name out there, but it\u2019s more about getting them to know me as a person.\u201d<\/p>\n
Preparing for the show is a full-circle moment for Laura, who last stood on stage at the Playhouse Theatre in 2022 as the co-director of ANU Law Revue (a student-run sketch show).<\/p>\n
Just a few years later, she\u2019s preparing to film her first comedy special, called That\u2019s\u2026 Brave, all about her decision to quit her day job for comedy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember standing on the stage, right before I was about to do the show, and thinking, \u2018I wish it was just me up here and the people in the audience had paid to see me\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s where the dream started.\u201d<\/p>\n
Laura\u2019s the first to say her path towards stand-up wasn\u2019t necessarily an expected career change.<\/p>\n
(She\u2019d never performed before she quit her job and did her first show two weeks later.)<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the things that I\u2019ve enjoyed is when old high school friends found out that I was doing comedy,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of them were really surprised. They were like, \u2018Oh, it makes sense now that I think about it, but I never would have predicted it \u2026 My parents were freaking out a little.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since the switch, she\u2019s made audiences laugh at the Melbourne Comedy Festival, the Adelaide Fringe Festival, and in Scotland.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Laura-Johnston-1.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
Laura is hoping to tick two things off her bucket list in January 2026. Photo: Patrick Guthridge.<\/p>\n
While That\u2019s \u2026 Brave is the same show Laura performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and on a tour through regional NSW<\/a> earlier this year, the content won\u2019t be the same.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the same story progression \u2013 it\u2019s how I became a stand-up comedian,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n \u201cMy rule, when I was taking it on tour, is that I was trying to improve it. Every time that I did it, I would do parts of it differently.\u201d<\/p>\n Canberra company Missing Bits Productions will also film the Playhouse show, which Laura says is another milestone for her first filmed special.<\/p>\n According to her \u201cbehind-the-scenes math\u201d, she\u2019ll need to sell about 320 tickets to fill out at least the bottom section of the Playhouse, while 1099 tickets would fill two shows.<\/p>\n Laura says that while one show (on 30 January) has been locked in, the hope is that strong demand will lead to a second show being added to the line-up.<\/p>\n She describes the show and venue as a \u201cbucket list\u201d dream she\u2019s held for years.<\/p>\n \u201cThe fact that I get to be chasing my dream this hard is incredibly exciting.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel completely electric and like I\u2019m doing what I should be doing.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s \u2026 Brave contains smoke and haze effects, and is not suitable for people under 15.<\/p>\n Keep up with Laura and her upcoming shows via her Facebook<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n Tickets can be purchased through the Canberra Theatre Centre\u2019s website<\/a> for between $35 and $45. The show will be held on 30 January from 8 pm \u2026 unless she meets 1099 people.<\/p>\n