“I'm just driving home from my last shift at nursing, so I’m pretty f...ing chipper right now!”
That unadulterated statement from Georgie Carroll is followed by a riotous cackle. Indeed, the conversation with the Australian-via-Manchester stand-up, who as of now can no longer be affiliated with the medical profession, is just what you can expect from her upcoming live show at The Garden of Unearthly Delights – off the cuff, spontaneous, and very damn funny.
“I was doing [medical] notes – they’re meant to be really precise for legal purposes. And [today] I’ve just put in random sh.t, like, ‘Patient’s come in for a line infusion, would very much like a cheese sandwich, doesn’t eat tomatoes’, just made sh.t up!
“I’m not going to go to prison. The worst that could happen. . . Well, the other night on 'The Project' – I thought I’d finished nursing, and I didn’t realise I had shifts this week – they said, ‘are you ready to get back up on stage?’ and I’m like, ‘am I ready? I was born for this, I’m primed, I’m dreaming of burning down the hospital on a regular basis'. ‘Course, I’ve not opened my work emails to see if I’ve gotta come to a meeting about it. . .
“So, I could lose my registration, which is alright, I don’t think I want it. But yeah! It would be a better story if I lost my registration for writing about cheese sandwiches in the notes! That would be a show!”
More cackling. Georgie is untamed and has no filter. And why should she? Her comedy career has been moulded on not treading on eggshells, and she’s finally in a position where she can step away from the day job and become an entertaining creature of the night.
“I’d given up [nursing] for two or three years,” Georgie explains, “I had been comedy-ing and had a life full of adventure and creativity and spontaneity. Oh, it was just splendid! Stuff I didn’t know I could do!
“I always romanticised nursing, I was like, ‘I could have done either – it wouldn’t have bothered me whether I was helping people or making ‘em laugh!’
Insert cry-laughing emoji here. “Certainly not the nursing [but] I love people, I love the elderly, but I hate working for people, I hate wearing a uniform. I hate policy, I hate having a boss [Georgie spits that last word with heavy contempt!], I hate the fact it has to start at a certain time every day and I can’t go to a party because I’ve said I’ll work.
“I’m so pleased I get my other life back [now]. This is not going to make nurses want to come to the show, is it? They’re all going to hate me!”
So much of Georgie’s stand-up has been so connected to her nursing, but she’s not got any reservations about not being able to compile material as she has done. In fact, she can do that and explore new possibilities, and it’s going to surface in her upcoming show.
It’s easy to take a back seat and just listen to Georgie, so animated and vigorous and lengthy is her conversation. No questions here, just the stories and ramblings of a woman walking on cloud nine. “I don’t tweet, mate!” she says, hilariously alluding to her extensive chatter. “I can’t! I can’t edit!”
Georgie Carroll plays The Boboli at The Garden of Unearthly Delights 23 February-7 March.
