From bringing babies into the world to bringing laughter to auditoriums.
Janty Blair has been crowned the winner of Melbourne International Comedy Festival’s Deadly Funny Competition.
Only six weeks between her first time performing and taking home the title, the Butchulla, Woppaburra and Mununjali woman seems a natural comedian.
But she says her humour is a gift from her ancestors.
"I am a descendant of some of the funniest men and women that ever existed,” she told NITV News.
“We know as blackfullas that we have people that have passed before us that sat around a campfire, or the kitchen table and they spun stories, true and false and funny.”
"We are natural storytellers, we are natural comedians.”
Ms Blair turned to her family in the moments before she competed at Deadly Funny.
Deadly Funny participants 2022 Source: T J Garvie
“I almost pulled out, to be honest, I didn't think I was good enough, funny enough. But when I hit that stage and felt the love in that room, I smashed it. Something just happened, and I think it was my ancestors,” she said.
“I always call on my ancestors, my family, the ones that have gone before, the funny ones, and ask them to help me get through it and they do.
"I ask them for the strength and the courage to get on stage, I tell them I do it for them. When I hit the stage, I don't know what happens, it feels like magic. It's this flow."
Hosted by Ngarrindjeri comedian Kevin Kropinyeri, Deadly Funny welcomed 12 finalists from across the country to face off on April 16.
The only dedicated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander comedy competition, the event celebrated its 16th year. While Ms Blair took out the top gong, Wiradjuri man David Human and Yawuru/Noongar woman Dora Smith were honourable mentions.
Ms Blair, a former nurse and midwife, and now Fine Arts student, launched her comedy career in an unconventional way – with a Bumble date at a comedy show.
Janty Blair performing at Deadly Funny Source: T J Garvie
There, it dawned on Ms Blair that she’d never seen anyone like her performing.
"There's no representation for older ladies, even older Black ladies. I thought I could give it a go,” she said.
Two days later, Ms Blair was performing at a local open mic competition.
"I started writing my script on that Tuesday, that afternoon in the car. I wanted to talk about real-life, what it's like to be a nurse and midwife,” she said.
“I was that nervous, but it was so good, people were giving me heaps of laughs. And I had lots of my tiddas there with me, cheering me on.”
Since then, Ms Blair has been honing her skills performing regularly at Open Mic competitions and taking comedic writing lessons.
But for Ms Blair, she gets the best laughs around her girlfriends.
“There's no other laughter that's like the laughter you have when you're with our own mob, your sisters, you get that tummy ache from it!” she laughed.
With the national award under her arm, Ms Blair joins the likes of other Deadly Funny alumni including Mr Kropinyeri, Steph Tisdell, Ghenoa Gela, Jalen Sutcliffe and Shiralee Hood – all of whom have made stellar careers from cracking jokes.
