The Festrogen women-centric comedy festival has announced two upcoming events in Luxembourg.
Documentary screening
Festrogen will be screening Page Hurwitz's Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution followed by a live Q&A with Belinda Carroll, one of the queer comedians featured in the film, at the Rainbow Center in Luxembourg-Ville on Saturday 10 August 2024 at 19:00.
In this first-of-its-kind documentary, Page Hurwitz frames LGBTQ+ comedy as an irrepressible art form of resistance. The film traces the evolution of queer comedy by way of major cultural milestones from the Stonewall uprising and Anita Bryant's anti-gay activism to the AIDS crisis and DeGeneres' "Yep, I'm Gay" TIME magazine cover.
Director Page Hurwitz, however, is well aware that there is a trove of stories still left to be told. "It's very difficult when you're in an underrepresented community, and everyone looks to one project to be the be-all and the end-all," said the director.
The documentary also addresses the current state of comedy, particularly the mainstreaming of transphobia in stand-up. As industry powerhouses like Ricky Gervais or Dave Chappelle suffer little to no consequences for their jokes, the film deliberately reminds the audience of the larger, real-world conditions that many in the community face today.
Tickets cost €3 and are available at https://fienta.com/comedy-revolution.
Comedy show
On Saturday 7 September 2024, Festrogen is organising "Laughs are in session", a comedy show featuring international comedians Jen Kirwin and Sam See, at Le Croque Bedaine in Luxembourg-Limpertsberg at 20:00.
Jen Kirwin (USA) has spent over ten years performing stand-up on the road in the US and appearing at all the major comedy clubs. After settling down in NYC, she became a regular at Caroline's on Broadway and Luna Lounge. She was a finalist on NBC's Last Comic Standing and performed at Montreal's Just for Laughs Comedy Festival.
Sam See (Singapore) is an award-nominated stand-up comedian currently based in London. He has headlined in over 25 different countries, garnered millions of views online and has crowd-surfed three times. Sam's shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe have received the first Five-Star review for an act from South East Asia (On The Mic) and his 2023 show, "Government Approved Sex", was on Fest Mag's list of The Best of the Edinburgh Festivals.
Tickets cost €20 (in advance) / €25 (at the door) and are available at https://fienta.com/laughs-are-in-session-a-comedy-show-with-jen-kirwin-and-sam-see.
