T
hedeathofa loved
onedoesn’toften
springtomind
whenthinking
aboutcomedy,
butforJamieBowen,the
achingdevastationoflosing
hisfatheris whatspurred
hislatestroutine,Not
SoSpecial.
It’sa bravemovefrom
a manwhois oneofNew
Zealand’stopcomedians,
featuringbothonscreenand
behindthescenesonshows
suchasA NightattheClassic
andThree’s7 Days.
WhenWoman’sDaychats
tothe37-year-old,he’sat
homeinLosAngeles,where
he’sbeenlivingsinceJanuary
andis waitingfortheNotSo
Specialreleaseonsomeofthe
biggeststreamingservicesin
theworld,includingiTunes,
AmazonandGooglePlay.
Butit hasbeena long
andpainfuljourneyforJamie
togettothisplace– andit
allbeganwitha phonecall
in2014.
“I wasintheUKtryingto
havea swingatmakingit in
thecomedycircuit,”heshares.
“InearlyJanuary,I gotthecall
from Dad to say he had cancerThe stand-up
guyfaced his
darkest days
Thecomic’spoured
hisheartoutinto
newprojectNotSo
Special, a brutally
honestaccountof
hismentalhealth
journey.‘
My highs and
lows are pretty
extreme, and
I always just
thought it was
part of being a
creative person
’
32 Woman’s Day