After a lifetime of nursing and midwifery, Janty Blair discovered her funny bone in her late 50s, following a serendipitous Bumble date (R).

Janty's father, Bob, was a staff sergeant in the Australian Army, and so she grew up moving around the country.

Home for Janty, a Butchulla, Mununjhali and Woppaburra woman, was really Hervey Bay in Queensland, where she would go on trips every year to visit her aunties, uncles, cousins and grandparents, all of whom were stomach-achingly funny.

While Janty loved performing in the school musicals, she was quite a serious child and didn't find her funny bone until later in life.

Instead of following her childhood dream of becoming an actress, Janty became a nurse and then a midwife.

But in her 50s, Janty went on a serendipitous date.

Two days later, she was performing in her first stand-up open mic night, and just a few months later she was crowned the winner of the biggest First Nations comedy competition in the country.

Further information

You can keep up to date with Janty's tour schedule by visiting her website.

Conversations' Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison. This episode was produced by Alice Moldovan.

Find out more about the Conversations Live National Tour on the ABC website.

This episode of Conversations explores NAIDOC week, comedy, black comedians, military life, the Next Generation: Strength, Vision & Legacy, Wayne Blair, hospital, medical profession, health industry, birthing, motherhood, military family, Aboriginal, Indigenous, First Nations, online dating, dating in your 50s, Byron Bay, bumble, Sapphires, Jessica Mauboy, deadly funny, blak humour.

KONTRAFUNK aktuell vom 20. November 2023