by ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Emma Holland grew up in Indonesia from ages 6-16, and she’d maybe rather have that be what sets her apart from other Australian comedians than her love of collages. Because who wants to be known as a collage comedian?
And yet, There Will Be Collage. There also will be inside jokes about American stand-up Arj Barker and a bit of a preamble before we get to the crux of Holland’s hour, which focuses on her childhood in Bandung and her love for animals, which range from an awkward attempt to save two rabbits from certain satay, to her international school’s campaign to save the orangutans. For one of those things, she has a tote bag by which to remember the experience. Holland has a wry sense of humor which extends to her recollections of the trauma of her school’s staged production of Shrek 2 (not the original, mind you), when she was 13.
Holland might not have wanted to be pigeon-holed into one comedic expression, and yet, what are collages but mixed media, which today are often expressed through multimedia and Photoshop? And when you’re a “third culture kid,” sometimes it helps to have a style of observational comedy that transcends written languages to cross cultural boundaries.
Emma Holland plays at Pleasance Courtyard during the 2024 Edinburgh Fringe
