Anisa Nandaula

Anisa Nandaula
Born1998 or 1999 (age 26–27)
Kampala, Uganda
Occupations
Comedy career
Years active2020–present
Medium
  • Stand-up

Anisa Nandaula is a Ugandan-born Australian comedian, poet, and author.

Early life

Nandaula was born in 2001[1] in Kampala, Uganda.[2][3][4] Her mother and siblings moved to Rockhampton, Queensland when she was seven.[5][6] A year later, they relocated to Brisbane.[7] She graduated from Runcorn State High School.[8]

Career

Poetry

After high school, Nandaula studied law and political science at Griffith University.[9] During this time she began to perform slam poetry.[10] In 2016, she was the Queensland Poetry Slam champion,[5] and she has performed at Splendour in the Grass, the Sydney Opera House, and the Woodford Folk Festival.[2][11]

Nandaula was runner-up at the Australian Poetry Slam in 2016, and won the 2018 Queensland Poetry XYZ Innovation in Spoken Word Prize. She co-founded the poetry organisation Voices of Colour in 2016.[2]

Her debut poetry collection, Melanin Garden, was published in 2017.[12]

Nandaula wrote, directed, and performed in the theatre show The Grass is Dead on the Other Side in 2018 at the Wonderland Festival.[13]

Her poem "Human" appeared in Solid Air: Australian and New Zealand Spoken Word (2019) and Volume 8 of the Australian Poetry Anthology (2020).[14]

Comedy

She said her transition from poetry to comedy during the COVID-19 pandemic made her feel "reborn", and likened the reading of poetry to performing stand-up comedy.[5] She also maintains popular accounts on Instagram and TikTok.[6][15] Nandaula worked at a bank while beginning her comedy career.[4]

She was featured in The Welcome, a collection of short films, in 2021.

In June 2023, Nandaula hosted HEAL's (Home of Expressive Arts and Learning) Songs of Hope event.[16] She gave the closing address at the 2024 Welcoming Australia Symposium.[17]

She created and co-wrote the 6-episode short series Let's Break Up,[18][19] based on a stage show.[20]

Nandaula opened for Chelsea Handler during Handler's Little Big Bitch tour in Australia in 2024.[21] In 2025, she performed her first comedy show, You Can't Say That, in Adelaide[22] and at the Brisbane Comedy Festival, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, the New Zealand International Comedy Festival,[4] and the Sydney Comedy Festival.[6][23]

She appeared on Thank God You're Here in October 2024[5] and is the Gen Z "team captain" on Talkin' 'Bout Your Gen.[24][25] She will appear in Taskmaster Australia in 2026,[7][4] as well as Urzila Carlson's upcoming sketch series URZILA.[26]

Nandaula will perform her new comedy show, No Small Talk, in 2026.[27]

As of January 2026, Nandaula is repped by Jubilee Street Management.[1]

Personal life

Nandaula unsuccessfully ran for office for the Greens during the 2017 Queensland state elections for the district of Stretton.[28] She was the subject of painter Tamara Armstrong's work Melanin Garden (2019)[29] as well as of a mural by Tori-Jay Mordey in 2021.[30] Nandaula has also collaborated with Matt Hsu's Obscure Orchestra.

She lives in Runcorn.[31]

References

  1. ^ a b "ANISA Nandaula". Jubilee Street Management. Retrieved 19 January 2026.
  2. ^ a b c "Anisa Nandaula". BEMAC. Retrieved 19 January 2026.
  3. ^ "When you choose to challenge ... through spoken word poetry". International Women's Day. 28 February 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d "Comedian Anisa Nandaula's first impression of NZ: 'This is like Australia, but a lot nicer'". The New Zealand Herald. 26 April 2025.
  5. ^ a b c d Campbell, Jess (29 June 2025). "Stand-up comedian Anisa Nandaula on trusting your gut". Body and Soul. news.co.au.
  6. ^ a b c Alicia, Vrajlal (8 May 2025). "Anisa Nandaula talks social media, building a comedy career, and how Elon Musk would "hate" her show". Missing Perspectives. Retrieved 19 January 2026.
  7. ^ a b Winter, Velvet (31 March 2025). "Meet the Ugandan-Australian comedian who swapped her 9-5 for the stand up stage". ABC News.
  8. ^ "QTU Biennial Conference". 17 July 2015. Another highlight was an address by Runcorn State High School student, Anisa Nandaula, in the opening session.
  9. ^ Chauhan, Cushla (April 2025). "Funny business". Vogue Australia.
  10. ^ Hanifie, Sowaibah (28 February 2017). "Poetry provides young people from diverse backgrounds a voice at Adelaide's Soul Lounge". ABC News.
  11. ^ "Slam Poet's Powerful Prose Tackling Ignorance to Drive Social Change". Subvrt. 19 March 2020.
  12. ^ "Anisa Nandaula". Brisbane Writers Festival. Retrieved 19 January 2026.
  13. ^ "The Grass Is Dead On The Other Side: A New Kind Of Apocalypse At Wonderland Festival". Scenestr. 18 November 2018.
  14. ^ Saleh, Sara; Smith, Melinda, eds. (2020). Australian Poetry Anthology, Volume 8 (PDF). p. 91.
  15. ^ van Wel, Clara (10 May 2025). "'Social media changed my life': Comedian Anisa Nandaula's unconventional path to the festival stage". The Post.
  16. ^ "Impact Report 2022/2023" (PDF). HEAL. p. 10. Retrieved 19 January 2026.
  17. ^ "2024 Program" (PDF). Welcoming Australia Symposium. 2024. Retrieved 19 January 2026.
  18. ^ "Screen Australia Annual Report 2022/23" (PDF). Retrieved 19 January 2026.
  19. ^ "Screen Australia to support 47 projects with $1.2 million". if.com.au. 16 August 2023.
  20. ^ "LA BOITE THEATRE LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2021" (PDF). Retrieved 19 January 2026.
  21. ^ "Chelsea Handler 2024 Australia Tour". scenestr. 12 December 2023.
  22. ^ Riley, Allan (18 February 2025). "The World in Her Hands". Fest.
  23. ^ Weber, Kris (22 April 2025). "Anisa Nandaula You Can't Say That". Theatre Matters.
  24. ^ "Meet Your Team Captains. Dave Hughes, Tommy Little And Anisa Nandaula Are Ready For Generational Mayhem". Paramount. 7 May 2025.
  25. ^ Davison, Katherine (29 August 2025). "Meet Talkin' 'Bout Your Gen's breakout star Anisa Nandaula". New Idea.
  26. ^ Sakowski, Kloudia (21 November 2025). "ABC Slates Urzila Carlson Comedy Series from WBITVP". Worldscreen.
  27. ^ "Anisa Nandaula No Small Talk". Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Retrieved 19 January 2026.
  28. ^ Green, Antony (11 December 2017). "Stretton - QLD Election 2017". Retrieved 19 January 2026. Nandaula born in Kampala, Uganda, and moved to Australia with her family when she was eight. She is a spoken word poet, performer and educator.
  29. ^ "Melanin Garden - A Portrait of Anisa Nandaula". Brisbane Portrait Prize. Retrieved 19 January 2026.
  30. ^ "QMF x BSAF". 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2026.
  31. ^ "Artists help break down racial barriers". The Courier Mail. 30 March 2019.
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