Hello Kitty Flanagan

The delightfully funny Kitty Flanagan is making her way back to Adelaide for the 2013 Fringe Festival with a show that has already been a hit interstate, Alex Dunkin reports.

Flanagan’s work as a popular presenter with Channel Ten’s The Project has helped introduce her to a new generation and an earlier timeslot.

“The Project is now at G timeslot I think, it’s not even PG anymore, it’s G so you know I love the fact that kids watch it and a lot of people come up and tell me that their kids like what I do,” she told blaze.

“The rudest thing I can say on The Project is probably poohead or something, so I do use quite juvenile words now but I’m certainly not out to offend or shock people, that’s not what I enjoy and that’s not the reaction I want.

“I want people to watch, laugh and say that’s what I reckon, so that’s the ultimate aim for me is to get people going ‘that’s what I think’.”

Flanagan’s work has been met with a few complaints over her perceived attack on Catholics, but as she explained she is not out to shock and she only feels in a position to make comments on the faith she was raised in.

“I went to Catholic school and I always mention that because I have been in trouble with Catholics in the past but my reason is I was brought up Catholic, I went to Catholic school, if there’s any religion I know a lot about and I feel free to comment on it’s Catholics,” she explained.

“People say why don’t you have a go at other religions? Which is a ridiculous thing to say as well, that’s not exactly Christian…, ‘have a go at other religions’. I didn’t get brought up in any other religions so I wouldn’t feel qualified to comment. There’s nothing religious in my show this year.”

On the path to her own show Kitty explained that she didn’t take straight to comedy but at heart she has always been a performer.

“I don’t think I ever really, I certainly never planned to be a stand-up comedian, I wasn’t really aware of it as a job. I was in advertising, I’d always thought I would be a writer of some sort even though I had this desperate need to perform,” she said .

“I think before I became a comedian I was far more outgoing at parties because I just wanted ‘everyone, look at me, I’ve got a funny story’.

“But once you do that on stage you can go ‘oh good, I get my time in the spotlight now’. So, now I’m quite boring at parties. I always feel like going ‘yeah, yeah you want to hear that story, just pay me some money’. You don’t get it for free,” she said with a laugh.

In beginning her performance career Flanagan started out in comedy clubs in England.

“Working in England, working in comedy clubs you tend to be on a bill with four other comedians. So there will be an MC and four comedians doing 20 minutes each and the audience doesn’t necessarily know any of you so it’s a bit of a pot luck, a bit of a mix which is a great night to go to but it also means you can go on and some people will love what you do, you won’t be someone’s favourite, they will like the guy who comes on after you but it’s always a mix,” she described.

“Whereas the difference now which I absolutely love is that I’m doing my own show and people are coming because they know what I do and they like what I do. So you start and you’re ahead of the game already with people sitting in the audience.

“When you work in comedy clubs you walk out onto that stage and you have got to be funny from the first split second, especially if you’re a woman, and go ‘everyone relax, I’m not going to be shit’ cos that is kind of the assumption when you walk out. People go ‘oh, it’s a woman’ so you’ve really got to walk and go here’s my best jokes, quick, quick, quick.’”

Kitty is performing with her sister Penny in Hello Kitty Flanagan at the Royalty Theatre on Angas from February 28 to March 3 and the 7-10 of March.