[COMEDY/ Stand-up – AUS]

Anisa Nandaula: No Small Talk
Drama Llama at Rhino Room
Fri 20 Feb, 2026

From poetry slam champion to comedic queendom, Anisa Nandaula is one of those performers who commands the room with ease. The Ugandan-born, Rockhampton-raised artist has a wealth of knowledge and life experience despite her youthful appearance and uses it throughout her set to draw quick-witted comparisons between African culture and the white-washed northeast she calls home.

Nandaula strides into the spotlight of the cosy basement venue with a huge smile and immediately eases the nervous anticipation of punters commonly felt in a comedy setting. Building rapport with random people in the audience comes naturally, as she sets a casual tone for the evening with friendly racial jousting and hilarious anecdotes about relationships and family dynamics.

Without fear or too much bravado, she shows her strengths and generously allows us to laugh at her faults whilst revealing the juggling act of straddling multiple cultural identities. Her enactment of her phone conversations about money with her Ugandan father had the room (me included) in raptures.

Through a joyfully animated performance of colourful storytelling and well-punctuated puns, Nandaula transported us from Adelaide’s infamous ‘Mall’s Balls’ to the majestic Maasai lands and back again – better educated and beaming from ear to ear – an up-and-coming star not to miss!

5 stars

Louise Adele