ALOK On Comedy And Visibility In A Volatile World

It’s no huge surprise that ALOK  is psyched to be leaving America to perform their new comedy special, Hairy Situation, here in Australia and across the Tasman Sea in Aotearoa/New Zealand. 

“It’s a bit of a clusterfuck here right now,” they say, calling in to chat to me from a frigid New York City with an array of colourful clothes behind them. “I’m really looking forward to just spending some time away from this place, and watching it from afar, while also getting hope and inspiration from my colleagues in Australia.”

You might be familiar with ALOK already – the gender non-conforming, transfeminine artist evades ascribing to a single profession. A performance artist, comedian, author, viral sensation and actor, they’re known for their effortless blending of the hilarious and the heartbreaking. 

In Hairy Situation, though, ALOK is seeking to make people laugh more than ever before. Recalling a number of hairy situations, like being mistaken for a similarly-named Brazilian DJ or an appointment at the European Wax Centre, the show has been described as “empowering and downright funny” after touring internationally.

A shift in perspective

Where ALOK’s previous special Biology! – available to watch for free on YouTube, per ALOK’s philosophy of accessibility – seamlessly wove poetry and humour together in a way that proudly defied explicit definition, Hairy Situation is aiming to deal in a more explicitly comedic space. 

That said, ALOK still wanted to create an hour that feels in line with their poetic background. “What I challenged myself to do was use poetic devices, metaphors, stanzas and pacing to write comedy. So it’s a very literary comedy show and I wanted to show people two kinds of humour they might be familiar with.”

It comes with a change in ALOK’s perspective towards comedy; long seen by them as a coping mechanism, it has a vastly different place in their life since they were last in Australia in 2022. “I’ve come to really understand comedy as a fundamental practice of maintaining joy alongside so much extreme instability and turbulence in the world,” they say.

“Comedy, like a liver, detoxifies difficult things and makes life more livable and bearable. And as things continue to get worse, I’ve just been really asking myself, ‘What is the dark joke that helps me stay afloat?’”

ALOK continues: “I think I have a more clarified understanding of comedy as medicinal, sacred and essential. In Hairy Situation, I’m going really dark and really absurd, creating a lot of absurdist scenarios that are responding to the political climate we’re in right now.”

ALOK on the current political moment

That climate is, of course, the extremely anti-queer regime of the recently sworn in Trump that ALOK so eloquently described as a clusterfuck to me earlier. Growing up gender-nonconforming and Indian in Texas, ALOK is sadly no stranger to discrimination; nor are they shocked to see it take on a national scale in the US and its spreading influence to other countries like Australia. 

“It’s really bad, and I know the suicide hotlines here in the US for LGBTQI+ youth are very active and a lot of people feel like there’s no space for them on earth to exist,” they say. “But what I would say is that people before us have felt the exact same way.”

ALOK recalls an exhibition they attended in Munich about life in the LGBTQI+ community pre-Holocaust: “It really moved me because I saw images, plays, photos, flyers for parties. And I was like, ‘Wait, this existed?’ It shows how important it is to leave evidence of not just our pain, but our power, and why we should be investing in the artists who will tell our stories. Learning history as an LGBTQI+ person is fundamental because it gives you pride.

“I learned that it used to be illegal for trans people in the US to exist in public because of crossdressing laws. But our transcestors went outside anyway, knowing they’d be arrested and physically beaten. I feel a sense of duty to be visible because I feel like the only way I can be here is because they struggled. That’s why they ban LGBTQI+ history – because one LGBTQI+ person can actually understand that we come from something powerful.” 

“It’s possible to love even your self-hatred”

ALOK hopes that both queer Aussies and their allies can enjoy Hairy Situation, and feel that sense of community. One way that they support local queer communities at every tour stop is by collaborating with local stylists and makeup artists, helping to foster that sense of togetherness and history. 

But above all, ALOK hopes that audiences from all over Australia – from Sydney, to Perth, to Hobart, to connect with queer people nationwide – is self-love. “What I’m trying to ask myself is if it’s possible to love my body in a world that hates my body, and is that possible when sometimes I am the world and I hate myself? The takeaway from this show is that it’s possible to love even your self-hatred.” 

When I asked them how they’d describe the show in five words, ALOK said: “Whimsy, shocking, titillating, rollercoaster, stubborn.” Find out just how appropriate this selection is at their Sydney show, taking place on Wednesday February 26th! For venue info, ticket prices and more, visit the tour website.