Krishna Istha
Deadpan standup that treats performance art like a punchline.
1 special · 2024
Get an email when there's a new special. You'll need a Google account.
Krishna Istha will stand in front of a microphone and simply wait out the room. They lock in an unnerving, unblinking eye contact that forces the audience into an uncomfortable silence before finally breaking the tension. They might emerge from underneath a white sheet wearing basketball clothes, laughing at the confusion they just caused. They treat the standard comedy club setup of a stool, a mic stand, and a water bottle as strange props. When they speak, it is with a steady deadpan that makes a passing comment sound like a thesis statement.
Specials
-
Hannah Gadsby's Gender Agenda with Hannah Gadsby, Jes Tom & 5 more
Hannah Gadsby hosts a showcase of seven standout genderqueer comedians.
Netflix · 75 min
On stage
Istha operates in the overlap between the international live-art circuit and the standup landscape. After years of making experimental theater, they have dragged those habits onto larger comedy stages. They build sets that hit the required punchlines while keeping the unpredictable, uncomfortable pauses of fringe theater intact.
Istha builds bits around their transmasculine experience without ever slipping into a lecture, instead pairing heavy concepts with daft setups. They will draw a direct line between hormone replacement therapy and buying produce, or state flatly that the sole purpose of performance art is to ensure no one in the room ever laughs again. They actively mess with the shape of a comedy hour. For First Trimester, Istha spends the runtime interviewing actual prospective sperm donors live on stage, turning the tedious process of family planning into a warm, highly structured piece of crowd work.
Based in London, Istha wrote for the fourth season of Sex Education and performed on the special Hannah Gadsby’s Gender Agenda.
Turning points
-
Premieres First Trimester Performance Art Show
Istha debuted an acclaimed interactive theater piece interviewing potential sperm donors live on stage, winning the Judge's Choice Award at the Dublin Fringe Festival.
-
Featured in Hannah Gadsby's Gender Agenda
Istha performed a featured stand-up set at London's Alexandra Palace for the Netflix comedy showcase highlighting genderqueer comics.
At a glance
- On stage
- since 2013
- Style
- performance art, storytelling, satire
- Breakout
- Hannah Gadsby's Gender Agenda
- Influences
- Zoë Coombs Marr, Hannah Gadsby
- Topics
- Elsewhere
- Website, Wikipedia
Fans also like
-
Zoë Coombs MarrCoombs Marr was a key early inspiration for Istha's comedy and directed their debut solo stand-up show Beast.
-
Hannah GadsbyGadsby's work helped inspire Istha to pursue stand-up, leading Gadsby to curate and host Istha on the Netflix showcase special Gender Agenda.
-
Jes Tom
Both are transmasculine stand-up comedians featured on Hannah Gadsby's Gender Agenda whose routines explore the physiological and social shifts of transitioning.
-
Chloe Petts
Both are prominent UK-based queer comedians who performed on Hannah Gadsby's Gender Agenda exploring masculinity and gender perception.
Also on screen
- Hannah Gadsby's Gender Agenda