How this rising star responded to men telling her she was 'too pretty to do comedy'

Elouise Eftos is used to people judging her on her appearance. With her hit debut comedy show, she's having the last laugh.

"My whole shtick is that self-deprecation is dead," Elouise Eftos says. Credit: Matt Ford/oxygen

Elouise Eftos didn't grow up thinking she was good-looking.

"I was 'the wog girl'. I thought that being blonde was beautiful," the Sydney-based comedian, who has Greek-Macedonian heritage, tells SBS News.

She also didn't think she was funny, making her decision to brand herself "Australia's first attractive comedian" all the bolder.

"I wanted to do something funny and a bit provocative," Eftos says of adopting the title, which is a nod to men in the industry telling her she was "too pretty to do comedy".

"A woman knowing that she is attractive or knowing that she's intelligent or knowing that she's funny, I think, is one of the most punk rock things you can do … because society, the patriarchy, has always made us believe that we need to be people pleasers and make sure that we put ourselves down to make other people feel comfortable."

Stand-up comedy was a bucket list item for Eftos, who's a trained actor, dancer, and singer and has a degree in film and journalism. Credit: Afrina Razi

Perhaps unsurprisingly, given Australia is a place where tall poppy syndrome (which Eftos derides as a "sick part of our culture") thrives and countless stand-ups have made successful careers out of self-deprecation, it ruffled a lot of feathers.

"It almost became a litmus test of: 'Are people going to project their own insecurities onto it? Are they going to bring me down because they think that I'm insulting other women?'" Eftos adds, pointing out the title doesn't refer to any specific gender.

I thought it was just amazing how many comedians couldn't take the joke.

A bad feminist?

Rather than causing Eftos to recoil, it emboldened her and provided creative fodder for her debut solo show, Australia's First Attractive Comedian.

Billed as a "bold and hilarious exploration of the relationship between comedy, feminism and sexiness", it's won awards, including director's choice at the Sydney Comedy Festival, and garnered critical acclaim both in Australia and overseas, proving she's much more than just a pretty face.

From the minute the show opens with a homage to the infamous interrogation scene from Basic Instinct, Eftos's talent for acting, dancing, and singing, alongside her razor-sharp stand-up skills, is on full display.

As her hyper-confident and playful onstage persona, she makes short work of men who see her as a one-dimensional sex object, with a recurring fantasy sequence, and jokes about comedy not being that hard, reminiscent of Elle Woods's iconic line in Legally Blonde about getting into Harvard Law School.

The "hectic" internalised misogyny displayed by those who preach feminism while judging her based on how she dresses or treating her like 'the other woman' also comes into the firing line.

"I have a joke about how a famous comic that I'm a big fan of was on stage, going: 'I hate the new wave of female comics. They're all hot and sassy and talk about blow jobs. I'll never be like that,'" she says.

"It's kind of like: 'Okay, don't. Good for you'.

"If you feel empowered wearing jeans and a t-shirt on stage, more power to you. But I'm not a bad person or a bad feminist for wearing a dress and heels."

Eftos's intention behind airing these grievances isn't necessarily to take those who've wronged her down a peg, but to encourage audiences to interrogate their own prejudices and question the "weird double standards" women have to deal with.

"We're told our whole lives: 'You are not good enough. You need to do this, you need to do that,'" she says.

"I'm even playing all these different characters and things to make a point that we've been told to be a certain way, and then as soon as we are a certain way, it's not good enough.

"It's like, I'm damned if I do, I'm damned if I don't."

The Femmebot is one of several characters Eftos plays in her show Australia's First Attractive Female. Source: Supplied

Making comedy history

Eftos made history earlier this year as the first Australian woman to receive a best newcomer nomination at the prestigious Edinburgh Comedy Awards.

It's an accolade that has only strengthened her resolve.

"I think a lot of people underestimated me for a long time," she says, admitting that off stage, she's "a pretty anxious person" who has struggled with self-doubt.

"[The nomination] solidified that I am someone to watch and I am good at what I do."

Eftos followed up that career milestone with a sold-out run at London's famed Soho Theatre and will be performing at the Sydney Opera House as part of Just For Laughs this week, before heading back overseas next year.

Elousie Eftos is the first Australian comedian to be nominated for the best newcomer award since Nath Valvo in 2016. Source: Facebook / Elouise Eftos

Having to spend so much time away from her family, who are based in Perth, is one of the hardest parts of working in entertainment, she says.

But there's some comfort in knowing she's living out the dreams of women, like her Yiayia Sofia, for whom a career in the spotlight wasn't even an option.

"She's such a character, and she would always sing and dance," Eftos says of her grandmother, who lovingly refers to her as a 'tra la la girl'.

"I think that this is what she was maybe born to do, and I feel like I'm doing it for her," she continues, her voice cracking with emotion.

Looking for real connection

There is a vulnerability to Eftos that she doesn't usually reveal when performing. But that's something she wants to tap into with her second show, which will explore modern dating and her uncertainty about whether love is real.

"I feel like men treat me in two ways: They either try to bring me down or they'll treat me as a trophy," she says, lamenting whether she'll ever meet anyone who truly sees her for who she is.

If I'm a liberated, confident woman, am I really desirable, or am I desirable only to a certain point, and therefore will never have real connection?

"It's a really interesting thing that I think a lot of women are struggling with at the moment."

She also wants to talk more about her heritage, including the conflict she feels between being "a good Greek girl" and an empowered woman.

"I am very superstitious, I think because of the way that my grandmas raised me, and I think there's a part of me that feels like maybe I'm being punished and I'll never find love because I'm an outspoken woman," she says.

After such a successful debut, there is an inevitable sense of expectation for Eftos to deliver another hit — but it's one she's taking in her stride.

"[This show] is a bit more ambitious, so I'm a bit nervous about it," she says, teasing that she plans to start the show dressed as the ancient Greek goddess Aphrodite.

She adds with a laugh: "I'll see if I can pull it off … and if I don't, I'll just be like: 'You guys don't get it.'"

Elouise Eftos is performing as part of Women Aren't Funny, hosted by Abbie Chatfield, at the Sydney Opera House from 14 to 16 November.