There's a fabulous, filthy and downright hilarious show making its entrance to Fringe World, as Vanessa Larry Mitchell hits Perth for the first time.
The queen of sass and the force behind Northern Rivers comedy club Larry Laughs Loud, Vanessa will take Fringe World audiences on an adventure in 'Teardrops On My Dildo', covering the trials and tribulations of parenting, dating, and just all things female, in general.
When she's not making people laugh with her stand-up, Vanessa is also a Mental Health First Aid Facilitator with 20 years' experience in the Community Sector. This background, combined with her skills in entertaining as a comedian, makes Vanessa one to watch in the realm of comedy.
She took home Best Comedy at Newcastle Fringe last year, and now it's Perth's chance to see what all the fuss is about.
We find out a little bit more about the show from Vanessa herself.
What are you most looking forward to about bringing this show to Fringe World?
This will be my first time in Perth and I’ve been told that Perth people will love my show. I was supposed to come over for Fringe World last year, but due to the border closures I couldn’t get across, so I’m absolutely itching for this!
It’s the show’s WA premiere. Any Perth-related plans outside of your show dates?
I’m bringing my 15-year-old son over with me for this one, so we’ll check out the beaches and explore the city. I’m guessing that in typical teenager fashion, he’ll be ready for Netflix or a TikTok binge while I go and do my shows each night. It’s a pretty good way to parent if you ask me. I know how to nail these working holidays!
Why do you think 'Teardrops On My Dildo' is a good fit for Fringe World?
This show is a good fit for anywhere! I really want people from all over the world to have the chance to see this show. My main aim is obviously for people to have a good laugh, but this show does more than that. I’ve been described as a ‘new age feminist’, which I guess is someone who advocates for women’s rights but in a way that men can laugh at too. I did have one woman come up to me after a show and tell me that she had just decided she was going to leave her husband because the show made her feel empowered about doing life as an independent woman. I felt bad about it initially, as the last thing I want is to be seen as a ‘home wrecker’, but she also said he’s a big time arsehole that she should have never married, so I high-five’d her instead.
Where did you begin when the show was first being formulated? Did the show start with a particular idea?
Initially the show was going to be called ’50 First Dates’. I was going to write a book about dating, so the intention was to date the sh.t out of as many people as I could and then write about each experience. But eventually I got bored with it. Dating can be hard work! So the show name got changed to ‘Teardrops On My Dildo’. It’s not so much of a sad tale, but a hilarious one. I really need to get back out there dating in 2023 so I can write a new show.
Aside from of course laughter, what’s the ideal audience response to 'Teardrops On My Dildo'?
I love it when people tell me after the show that they feel free. There’s something really liberating about it for women. I talk on stage about things we are trained never to talk about in public. Which is so weird because they’re not things we should ever be ashamed about. I had one woman question me after a show about a bit I do about shoving things in my vagina back in my 20s. She asked me if it was true, as though she was shocked by it. So I asked her ‘hasn’t everyone shoved something in their vagina that doesn’t belong in there?’. She paused for a second and then said ‘Yeah, but only a Mars Bar!’. I lost it. But that’s my point. We all act shocked at things women say or do, but the reality is we are pretty much all doing it. Or doing something similar. We are just trained to keep our mouths shut about it. When actually, there is comedy gold in the things we are supposed to keep hidden. Women have been wired to fit a social mould that I don’t think any of us really belong to anymore. Laughing about shared experiences really connects us as human beings. If we’re not being mean or hurting anyone, then who gives a f...?! Most of us swear like troopers, masturbate or have the occasional one-night stand. If anyone is judging us for that, then that’s a ‘them’ problem!
When did you first get the desire to enter the world of stand-up?
I’ve always loved public speaking. I taught at TAFE for a few years and spent about ten years delivering Human Rights-based training and am still a Mental Health First Aid Facilitator. I’ve always been a bit of a dickhead and a show off at parties, so comedy was an opportunity to put the two skill sets together. It still blows me away that I’ve managed to make a career out of telling jokes, although I couldn’t think of anything I’d rather be doing. I’m probably less of a dickhead at parties now too because I’ve found a more appropriate outlet.
Any particularly memorable (for better or worse) on-stage moments with audiences in recent memory?
I had a couple of older men in an audience recently. Like, in their late 70s.They sat fairly close to the front of the stage, but off to the side. I kept glancing over to them through the show and they looked like they were hating it. After the show they came up to me and told me it was the best comedy show they’d ever been to! I said ‘I thought you were hating it?! You weren’t laughing?!’. And the guy replied with. . . ’Nah, I was just shitting myself that you would start talking to me!’. I love that they took a risk and came to see my show in the first place. I never want anyone to leave having a bad experience. That’s not what comedy is about.
When you’re not on stage, you’re a Mental Health First Aid Facilitator. From that perspective, talk a bit about your views on the benefits of comedy/laughter to improve mental health!
I’ve had so many people come to me after the show and tell me it was just what they needed. One lady had lost her teenage son to a freak accident a few months earlier and she said the show made her feel like there was still life left for her. I get goosebumps thinking about that. It’s such a privilege to be able to do comedy that has a purpose beyond just telling jokes.
Vanessa Larry Mitchell plays Allstars at The Aberdeen Hotel 13,15,16 February, The Paramount Room at Paramount Night Club 17 February and Rosemount Hotel 18-19 February (Fringe World).
