The Candidate

Ever wonder what it's like to run for politics, come breathtakingly close..and lose?

 

Mandy Nolan does. And this is the story she won the prestigious Moosehead Award to present at  The Melbourne International Comedy Festival this year at Town Hall.

 

So why the fuss? Election night, 21 May Antony Green stopped in his tracks when he came to reporting back on Richmond...the huge vote for comedian Mandy Nolan broke his modelling. He was dumbfounded, and asked...'What is happening in Richmond?'

 

In her gonzo inspired stand up show: The Candidate, Mandy Nolan gives the inside story on her run for politics. The impossible struggle to look neat for election photos, the fear of what probity might uncover. The 20 years plus of opinion pieces, the video blogs that could be dug into...and were. 

 

The Candidate is about hope. It's about what it means to be a woman in the male dominated world of politics. It's about daring to believe that after years cleaning up,   you could be a voice at the table.

 

Nolan asks the big questions: How do you maintain your authenticity AND be taken seriously? Should a middle aged woman wear short theshorts and thongs on her corflute? Why can nothing be done without a jacket? What is candidate syndrome? How do you answer questions confidently, when you don't know the answer? And what do you do when you find out your friends drew dick and balls on your election signage?

 

This is the story of a stand up comedian and mother of 5 who steps into the political arena to push for action on climate change and housing.  

 

Mandy Nolan shares a comedic insight into what it's like to run for parliament.  

 

This is the comedy companion to the documentary that screened on Compass: See Mandy Run and the full length version streaming on Docuplay. 

 

Mandy believes 'Nothing can prepare you for the insane adrenaline sport of campaigning. Not even three decades as a stand up comic.'

 

And nothing can prepare you for what it's like to lose.

 

At  the end of 14 months of on the campaign trail, Mandy found herself in Sydney in a Covid Ward, and she didn't have covid!

 

How could things have gone this wrong?

It's all in....The Candidate.

 

After two sell out shows at the Byron Comedy Festival Mandy brings her show to The Star Court Theatre in Lismore for one night only. $10 of all ticket sales go to Reclaim our Recovery.