After four decades on the stage, renowned North Coast comedian Mandy Nolan has announced her retirement from stand-up comedy.
Nolan, a fixture of the local and national comedy scene, told The Echo she is stepping back from performing to pursue other professional avenues. While she will no longer headline comedy gigs, Nolan says she will continue to MC fundraising events, facilitate community and corporate functions, deliver keynote speeches, and offer speaker training.
“I’ve performed as a stand-up comedian for 40 years, but feel like it’s time to reinvent myself,” Nolan said. “There’s only so long you can expose your failings to a group of people in a pub. I was literally running out of failings. And I have a lot!”
Nolan described her decision as part of a broader commitment to teaching and mentoring the next generation of performers. “Part of teaching is about legacy – handing it on. It feels right to hand the baton to Ellen Briggs,” she said.
Political Ambitions Remain
The career shift comes after Nolan’s recent campaign for federal office. Running as the Greens candidate for the Richmond electorate in the 2022 federal election, Nolan came close to unseating incumbent Labor MP Justine Elliot, falling short by just 3,517 votes. She has confirmed plans to contest the seat again in the 2028 election.
Ellen Briggs to Continue Comedy Legacy
Taking over Nolan’s comedy gigs and courses is fellow comedian and longtime collaborator Ellen Briggs. The two had toured together as the popular comedy duo Women Like Us for over a decade.
Briggs, who has an extensive performance history across the region, will assume teaching responsibilities for Nolan’s well-known comedy course, as well as live performance bookings spanning from Tweed to Ballina.
“Sadly, Women Like Us is over,” Briggs said. “As for Mandy’s legendary comedy course – those are tall shoes to fill. It’s such a popular course, mainly because many people were prepared to pay money to hang out with Mandy!”
Briggs emphasized the course’s broader appeal, noting that participants often join not to become professional comedians, but to build public speaking skills or cross an item off their bucket list.
Course Enrollment Still Open
Limited spaces remain for the upcoming term of the comedy course, to be held at Byron Community College. Sessions run Monday evenings from 6pm to 9pm, beginning June 3 and concluding with a final showcase on July 1.
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