90-Year-Old Comedian D’yan Forest Joins NYC Fringe Festival

D’yan Forest, Southampton’s own comedy firecracker and the Guinness World Record holder for Oldest Female Comedian, is once again returning to the stage to prove age is just a number.

This April, she’s bringing her one-woman show, 90 Years of Song and Scandal, to the New York City Fringe Festival, blending her signature mix of one-liners, stories, songs, and ukulele strumming for a run at Wild Project on April 3, 11, 17, and 20.

The performances come after a challenging year for Forest, who was sucker-punched in a random New York City attack weeks before her 90th birthday. But in true showbiz fashion, she’s turned pain into punchlines.

“I’ve been afraid to do anything about it, but we made up a song and a few lines about it, so that was different. I finally got the courage,” Forest told South O’ The Highway in a new interview. “It’s in the East Village and it’s a very nice theater, so this is onwards and upwards.”

Since her last Hamptons performance in September at the Sticks and Stones Comedy Club, Forest has been globe-trotting, stopping in Paris, Berlin, and London over the holidays.

“I got the vacation I deserved,” she said, adding that she’s booked and busy in the months ahead. “A bunch of retirement facilities in Chicago have asked me to perform this summer,” she said, adding that she often “changes [my] show according to the audience.”

But when it comes to performing in New York, Forest says she embraces the “anything-goes” energy.

“That’s what makes it so exciting. I can be my stage-self there because this is New York and New Yorkers appreciate everything,” she said.

While her audiences should expect the unexpected — she insists her routines won’t offend.

“A lot of comedians are outright vulgar, and I’m not at all. I’m just a little, you know, fun,” she said with a laugh. “Even though I’m 90, I identify with everything from teenage life to being old. When I go into the audience and sit in somebody’s lap — oooh! They’re sort of shocked at whatever I do.”

When she’s not on the road, Forest splits her time between Southampton and the city. And once summer rolls in, she’s all about the East End lifestyle.

“I love playing golf with my friends, and then we have big parties at the golf club where you meet everybody and you can sort of dress up a little and eat lobster,” she said excitedly. “So I’m looking forward to that!”