Is there comedy to be found in death, politics and music? This trio thinks so

Posted on 28 February, 2025

What do you get when an End-of-Life Doula, an aspiring politician and an IT geek get together to plan a comedy show?

A one-of-a-kind performance where no topic is off limits and laughs are guaranteed.

From the comedic mind of End-of-Life Doula, Estella Hutchinson (who hosted the sold out Comedy at the Crem performance at Gungahlin Crematorium last August), The Unholy Trinity of Music, Death and Politics is kicking off the opening night of the Canberra Comedy Festival with a thought-provoking, and wildly entertaining show.

Under the stage name Stell Muses, Estella will once again be taking the stage to bringing her witty take on death, dying and grief to Canberra audiences – but this time with a splash of music and politics for balance.

“We’re all going to die and all face grief throughout our lives, but it is still not openly discussed,” she says.

“I was working on a stand-alone show about comedy and becoming death comfortable that will take place in Wangaratta and Albury-Wodonga in June, when Nathan and Sean approached me about getting together to work on a show in the Canberra Comedy Festival.”

“I said ‘Sure’ as long as I could use my death and dying material – it’s another opportunity to help people become more death comfortable.”

Also featuring Nathan Hillman, a self-confessed IT geek whose musical comedy has toes tapping between fits of hysterical laughter, and Seany Boy – the stage name of recent ACT Legislative Assembly candidate Sean Sadimoen – The Unholy Trinity of Music, Death and Politics will be smashing taboos while making audiences giggle by merging the three seemingly unrelated topics into a cracking one-hour show.

“When we were working out what our show would be about, I already had my death stuff, and it seemed natural to us that Nathan would stick with his musical comedy style,” explains Estella.

“Sean had just survived the campaign trail so had a lot to say about that. We’ve used Nathan’s musical comedy to tie together the topics of politics and death – after all, music does often feature in these events. But Nathan’s answer is better…”

“They say music soothes the soul, death removes the soul, politicians often lose their soul, and comedy is here to amuse the soul,” says Nathan.

“What Nathan said.” adds Sean.

Known for her ability to make difficult topics like death, dying and grief more approachable for audiences, while Estella’s show won’t take place in a crematorium (although it’s not off the cards in the future), it will continue her passion for helping people learn about death while they laugh.

And as for Nathan and Sean?

“They say death and taxes are the only certainties in life, but I’d argue there’s a third: awkward IT guys trying to be funny. Luckily, I bring a guitar. Between Stell’s take on death and Seany Boy’s political confessions, I’m just here to sing about life – and prove that even IT nerds can make you laugh – right after we fix your Wi-Fi,” says Nathan.

“After running for parliament I’m used to tough crowds and hecklers, so comedy is the perfect next step. I’m looking forward to sharing with the audience hilarious tales from the campaign trail and the absurdities of politics in the social media age.” adds Sean.

Making the trivial seem serious and the serious seem trivial, with all three comedians previously named ACT finalists in the RAW Comedy competition, you know that they’ll be good at taking topics that seem serious and making them funny.

Taking the stage on Wednesday 12 March, from chatting about death with a death doula, to chuckling about politics with a politician, and enjoying hilarious songs from an IT guy with a guitar, Nathan says it best.

“This show is packed with variety and is guaranteed to have something for everyone!”

Feature image supplied.