Kat Davidson is set to perform at Livewired Comedy, a weekly event hosted by the Brisbane Powerhouse, showcasing some of the nation’s finest comedic talent.
Kat has been a regular on the bill since the show’s inception.
“It's such a lovely gig – it's fairly early in the evening so people aren't looking at their watch thinking about what time they have to get up on Monday, it's relaxed, it's people who know theatre and comedy so it's the most fun you can have in front of a large group of people. . . I love the energy you get to bring to the show as an MC because you get to be the guide for the audience through the whole thing.”
Kat has been fine-tuning her craft since the early ‘90s, and has gone from strength to strength throughout her career – steadily expanding her repertoire and now able to command a room, regardless of the occasion. Be it hen's/buck's nights or corporate galas, Kat’s signature brand of observational comedy and storytelling translates beautifully across a spectrum of settings.
“I was studying to be an actor and I'm not a very good one as it turns out, partly because I'm not very good at remembering other people's words. In my final year of university one of my lecturers basically dared me to do stand-up and that was 21 years ago. . . Now I've come full circle and I teach comedy at the university where I got my start, so it's one of those beautiful, circle of life, Hakuna Matata things.”
When asked if an individual can actively learn to be funny, rather than it being an inherently intangible character trait, Kat responds with an optimistic and resounding ‘yes’, harking back to her own experience of watching Brisbane’s current generation of young comedians take flight and grow before her very eyes.
“If they do the work. It's much like anything. It's like if you put someone behind the wheel of car and expect them to be able to drive it, they can't, no matter how much they thought they could, or [how much they] have played 'Grand Theft Auto'. It’s the same with stand-up – you might have an idea of what 'funny' is, but once you learn some of the theory behind it, and get some flying time, then you can absolutely teach funny.
“Josh Thomas came out of Brisbane; I saw him do his first gigs and now he's a megastar and funnier than I'll ever be. Damien Power as well, came through after I did, Matt Okine, so that's pretty amazing too. When you watch someone struggle with the basics and then nail them so hard they surpass you, it's a good thing.”
Kat’s experience in the multi-faceted world of comedy has landed her with a wealth of knowledge, as well as an insight into how a budding sense of community can nourish young performers and prepare them for the rest of their career. This sense of camaraderie and community is the backbone of Livewired.
“Livewired is carefully curated, so the people you are seeing have been put together carefully. It is people at different stages of development but they all suit the venue, none of them are going to say something horrendous, and the show has been put together in such a way so that there is something for everyone in the audience. You may not love every act but there will be enough in it that you will come out having had a good hour, and I think that's a really lovely way for an audience just to spend a Sunday.
“It's lovely also for the comedians to get a chance to perform to a theatre-savvy crowd, which is the people who come to the Powerhouse, so that they're not fighting against a pub crowd that don't really know what's going on, which isn't always the case but it can be. It's a gift on both sides.”
