Entertainment
16 July, 2026
Theatre audience in stitches
A SOLD-out crowd packed into Innisfail’s Con Theatre when West Australian comedian Emma Krause unleashed ‘Spanx and the City’, a high energy, laugh-out-loud celebration of midlife mayhem that had audiences roaring from start to finish.
Ms Krause’s new show, a cocktail of perimenopause, parenting teens, dating disasters and the pressure to keep it all together (preferably in Lycra), struck a chord with the predominantly female audience with a few brave men along for the ride.
The afternoon delivered wall to wall laughter, empowerment and the kind of feel good buzz that followed people out the doors.
Her comedy journey began in a moment of serendipity when she discovered an old joke book, she wrote as a child, which reminded her how deeply she loved making people laugh.
But the real turning point came when her grandmother turned 100 and shared the wisdom that changed everything: she had lived her own life, not the one others expected.
Ms Krause realised she needed to face her fear of public speaking if she wanted to take a leap into stand up comedy.
Terrifying at first, comedy soon became a source of strength.
“I learned so much doing comedy. It didn’t just make me laugh, it pushed me to grow,” she said.
“It taught me resilience, helped me build confidence and showed me I could trust myself even when I was full of doubt.”
Ms Krause’s idea for a new comedy show began after touring her sell out show ‘40+Fabulous’ across Australia, where she heard thousands of women speak about burn-out, body expectations and the constant pressure to “suck it all in.”
Since then, her career has taken her to the finals of Australia’s Got Talent, onto screens as Oz Lotto’s Sue Finley, and on tour with ‘The Motherhood’.
But her biggest highlight has been taking her own shows on the road and connecting with women who see themselves in her stories.
“Hearing women say the show made them feel seen and understood, that’s what makes it worthwhile,” she said.
This month Ms Krause wrapped up a string of packed shows in Mission Beach, Cairns, Atherton, Innisfail and other parts of Queensland.
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