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Prison really is a laughing matter for this stand-up comedian

Andrew Hamilton used stand-up comedy to rehabilitate himself after a stint in jail, and hopes to be able to do the same for others.
12 Jul 2024 9:00
Richard Watts
An Anglo-Australian man smiles affably at the camera. He has short dark hair, stubble, and wears a white t-shirt. He is standing in front of a light yellow backdrop. Andrew Hamilton.

Performing Arts

Stand-up comedian Andrew Hamilton. Photo: Supplied.

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While serving time in a NSW prison after being convicted of commercially supplying psychedelic drugs, Andrew Hamilton had an epiphany.

‘There were a few moments when something very funny would happen behind bars and I’d be laughing so hard that I would forget my surroundings. I’d forget for a minute or two that I was in prison,’ he explains.

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Richard Watts

Richard Watts OAM is ArtsHub's National Performing Arts Editor; he also presents the weekly program SmartArts on Three Triple R FM. Richard is a life member of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, a Melbourne Fringe Festival Living Legend, and was awarded the 2019 Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards' Facilitator's Prize in early 2020. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Green Room Awards Association in 2021, and a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in June 2024. Photo: Fiona Hamilton. Follow Richard on Bluesky @richardthewatts.bsky.social and Instagram @richard.l.watts

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