Phoebe Robinson’s last comedy special on Max, streaming in 2021, featured plenty of jokes about her then-boyfriend of four years Luke Downs. She played upon the fact they were an interracial couple as well as details of their sex life.
Two years later, that relationship is behind her and her new show at the Buckhead Theatre on Sunday, Oct. 21, takes a different tenor. (Tickets start at $31)
“It’s all good,” said Robinson to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “This new hour has been fun. It’s the most joke-dense hour I’ve ever done. It’s all about being a girl boss. I talk a lot about societal pressures women face and how grinding and working doesn’t necessarily set us free and save us. People are feeling a sense of burnout. They’re working but the money isn’t matching the output they’re putting in. I am tired. I want to have a sugar daddy! Can I just date a 75-year-old and have him take care of everything?”
Robinson, who has been doing stand up since 2008, built up her hour doing jokes on stage earlier this year in Brooklyn and then holding small residencies in Seattle and Dallas where she got direct feedback from the audience.
“Stand up is so much back and forth,” she said. “It doesn’t mean they determine what the hour is. I just need connecting points to get from here to here. I record everything and go back and listen to it and punch things up for the next show. By the time I did a couple of shows in London, I felt it was all set.”
Robinson over the past decade has built up quite a “girl boss” resume. She got in early in the podcast game with “2 Dope Queens” followed by “Sooo Many White Guys” and “Black Frasier.” She has written two best-selling books and acted in the 2019 comedy “What Men Want” and the semi-autobiographical 2022 Freeform scripted series “Everything’s Trash but That’s Okay.”
That latter series only lasted a season. She was bummed about that but got over it reasonably quickly. “No failure is going to define me,” she said. “No success will will ultimately define me. It all evens out in the wash.”
She has a production company Tiny Reparations and is seeking ideas to pitch to producers now that the writers strike is over (although most scripted programming can’t really get going until the actors get a deal.). “Everyone is coming out with a renewed energy,” she said. “We want lots of women at the helm, people of color, people from the queer community telling their stories.”
Robinson, 39, also recently got into running as a hobby in April and has taken part in a few 5K and 10K races so far
“It’s so great mental health wise,” Robinson said. “It’s wonderful to have a hobby not related to my career. I started doing Peloton workouts before the pandemic and doubled down during the pandemic. I’d take walk/run classes on treadmills. I moved to a new place and began running around the neighborhood. I can now do about 7 miles at a time. My goal is to maybe do a half-marathon at some point.”
IF YOU GO
Phoebe Robinson
7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 21, $31, Buckhead Theatre, 3110 Roswell Road NE, Atlanta. livenation.com.
About the Author
