You either have it or you don’t, a classic quote that rings true about local funny girl Claudine Ullman. For as long as she has known, she has always been able to coax laughs out of people, something she has continued to do in her illustrious career as a comedienne that has seen her dominate some of London’s most acerbic audiences. Having conquered the world, Ullman is now looking to bring her hit show Artificially Infeminated to local shores.
The show, with biographical elements, is Ullman’s approach to tapping into her authenticity. No stranger to taking on acting roles, Ullman brings to life a number of characters who allow her to “shape her authentic voice through them”.
While Artificially Infeminated encourages audiences to be true to themselves, Ullman found herself having to conquer this very issue when taking on the London comedy scene as a big fish from South Africa’s small pond.
“They have a culture of going out to theatres and we don’t have it yet. Will we ever have it to the same degree? I don’t know but people are going out in London,” says Ullman, “your chance of getting audiences there are a lot greater and opportunities are wider.”
And while chasing her dreams in bigger ponds, Ullman believes South Africa’s comedy scene still needs financial support. She also believes audiences need to be loyal to acts who are still honing their craft.
“We need audiences to be far more understanding. Far more knowledgeable and aware that we are growing something in this country. This is a fresh industry — we’re babies. Even with pioneers like Mel Miller and Loyiso Gola, comedy is still 20 to 30 years old. Especially for the type of comedy I do, because overseas there are many character comics like me. They are winning all the awards in Edinburgh. Here it’s way more niche. It’s still a fresh new art form.”
Playing a number of roles, including a number of skits on Netflix’s ROSA, Ullman is no stranger to expanding her reach which has also extended to pageantry.
Waking from a dream one night she was determined to enter a pageant. While she went in for laughs and stand-up content, Ullman found that the pageant experience led her on a journey of self-acceptance.
“I was able to find my voice in comedy but now I could find it in my body and how I could love it. I wanted to empower other women around me to feel the same way,” said Ullman, who walked away with the Personality title at the 2022 Mrs South Africa pageant.
“That is the exact award I should have won! I remained 100% authentic to who I am,” she shared, adding she often got comments for her unconventional walk that was her way of throwing herself into the experience.
While she never won the big crown, Ullman is still in touch with her pageant family and hopes to do training with future contestants. She also hopes it inspires more people to challenge themselves by trying something they are scared of.
“Whether it’s pageantry, studying improv, learning a new language or starting that side hustle you never had the courage for — find that thing that terrifies you and should go do it. Just get involved.”
Catch Ullman's Artificially Infeminated - December 2 at Protea Hotel: Fire & Ice at 8pm.
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