Portland audiences craving smart, incisive and off-kilter comedy have a new reason to rejoice: local mainstay comedian, writer and director Peter Lundquist makes his solo show debut with Nervous Laughter, a provocative and profoundly entertaining exploration of anxiety, resilience and the healing power of laughter. The show runs Fridays and Saturdays, January 9-24, 7:30-8:30 pm, at 21ten Theater, 2110 SE 10th Ave.
Lundquist’s performances are a collision of the cerebral and the absurd, delivered with a truly “Portland” combination of unfiltered heart and anarchic energy. Nervous Laughter brings together everything he’s known for—sharp, poetic comedy populated with unforgettable characters, clever satire, writerly precision and a raw, intimate comedic core—to create a performance as vividly human as it is hysterically funny.
Lundquist’s journey is both laughable and real. Once paralyzed by panic attacks and shut in his apartment for three years, he received an unexpected prescription from his therapist: take an improv class. The experience transformed him, and now, drawing on 100+ live Portland shows, TV and radio appearances and a lifetime of sketch and character work, he turns his unlikely tale into a solo performance packed with sketches, stories and surprises.
With mental health awareness in the spotlight, Lundquist’s work is as timely as it is entertaining, appealing to audiences who crave smart, fearless and deeply personal humor. This show doesn’t sugarcoat panic attacks or social anxiety; it puts them on stage, messily and hilariously, proving that struggling is normal, and laughing through it is not just ok, it’s necessary.
Lundquist shares, “Nervous Laughter is about getting to the end of your rope and discovering that comedy can pull you back and help you get through the worst moments of your life. I remember being sedated in an ER during a mental health crisis when a doctor asked, ‘are you Peter Lundquist? I said, ‘Yes, but please, no autographs!’”
Tickets ($24 + fees) available at nervouslaughterpdx.eventbrite.com. Minors are allowed with parent or legal guardian.