Saturday Night Live Star, Jay Pharoah, Announces Debut Australian Shows In Sydney And Melbourne This May

Frontier Comedy is thrilled to announce the debut Australian tour for Saturday Night Livealumni, stand-up comedian, actor, rapper and impressionist Jay Pharoah. Pharoah will perform two shows at Sydney's Factory Theatre on Thursday 16 and Friday 17 May as part of the Sydney Comedy Festival, followed by two shows at Melbourne's only dedicated comedy venue The Comic's Lounge on Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 May.

One of the ten youngest ever cast members to join the Saturday Night Live players, Pharoah remained for a huge six seasons as a writer and cast member on the long-running sketch series. During this time he achieved legendary comedic status for his impeccable impressions of public figures as diverse as former President Barack Obama,Family Guy's Stewie Griffin, Eddie Murphy, Nicolas Cage, Kanye West, Drake andJustin Bieber. In 2015, he was honoured by Rolling Stone Magazine as the 55th greatest Saturday Night Live cast member in the history of the show.

With scene-stealing supporting roles in Get A Job alongside Bryan Cranston, Chris Rock'sTop Five, Ride Along with Kevin Hart and Ice Cube, Intramural and Lola Versus; Jay has entered the cinema stratosphere since departing SNL. While he's voiced various roles in much-loved animated TV series like Family Guy, BoJack Horseman, Robot Chicken andSuperMansion, it was Jay's starring role in Jamie Foxx's loosely autobiographical vehicleWhite Famous that launched him into millions of lounge-rooms when it aired on Showtime in the US and on Stan in Australia.

As an overweight teenager growing up in Virginia with ADD, seventeen year old Jay turned to jokes and impressions to turn around the bullying he suffered at school by making his tormentors laugh. Now as a globe-trotting, headlining adult comedian, Pharoah's famous impressions combined with personal stories see the high-energy headliner a constant on the US comedy and college circuit.

'Fall-out-of-your-chair funny' - Deadline (US)

'With impressions fans know and love embedded in new, equally energetic stand-up, Pharoah made the packed crowd at Queen Elizabeth Theatre laugh, stare in awe at his mimicry, and rise to their feet for a standing ovation.' - Exclaim.ca (USA)

'Pharoah, who took the stage to enthusiastic applause and whistles - just oozed energy. He was all over the place, and the audience was more than happy to jump all over the place with him' - Vancouver Weekly (CAN)

While Pharoah's tenure on Saturday Night Live may be behind him, he hasn't left the characters that originally made him famous behind. His live show is a hilarious, high-energy pastiche of stories, characters and SNL-level jokes which have carried the comedian all over the world, and with tours of the US, UK and Canada under his belt he is excited to be making his Australian debut this May!

SYDNEY COMEDY FESTIVAL
Thu 16 (7.30pm) & Fri 17 May (9:15pm)
Factory Theatre | Sydney, NSW (All Ages)
sydneycomedyfest.com.au | Ph: 13 28 49

HEADLINE SHOWS
Sat 18 & Sun 19 May (8pm)
The Comic's Lounge | Melbourne, VIC (18+*)
thecomicslounge.com.au | Ph: 03 9348 9488
*U18's with parent or guardian

This event is recommended for patrons aged 15+