Hilarious 'Puberty Blues' author Kathy Lette brings you into her crazy life in her show 'Kathy Lette's Big Night Out' at Adelaide Fringe.
From the trials and tribulations of raising a child on the autistic spectrum to tongue-kissing Prince William, there's practically nothing off limits.
Kathy sits down to tell us some more before the show's run at the Fringe.
You're best known for the novels you've written… What will you be bringing to the stage?
I love to talk – hey, my lips have lost weight with the amount of talking I do. It's not the Aitkins but the Talkins Diet. This is a fun night of feminism and frivolity. I talk about my books and my life and adventures, with clips and photos etc, to help explain how I became the deranged feminist you see before you!
What has been your favourite story to tell over the years?
Oh, so many – hiding Julian Assange in the attic, tongue-kissing Prince William, turning down George Clooney for a date, making the Queen laugh – and I don’t mean Elton John! You’ll have to come along for the funny, full-frontal experience!
This is your Australian debut live show. Have you got plans to continue in the world of live performance after this?
The trick with performing a one-woman show is to not fall out with the cast. (Ha ha.) But the whole experience has been so enjoyable that I’m thinking about doing a new show to tie in with my next novel, 'HRT (Husband Replacement Therapy)'.
What about bringing your stories and experiences to a live setting made you want to pursue it?
Writing is a fairly lonely profession. It’s so much fun meeting your readers. Mine are witty, wise, warm-hearted and wondrous. My life’s motto is that women are each other’s human wonder bras – uplifting, supportive and making each other look bigger and better. My favourite thing about this show is that women come in groups – grandmas, mums, granddaughters, teenager, sisters, best friends.... And of course, the men who come also have a ball, as they get to hear the secrets women discuss when they’re not around!
Your novel 'Puberty Blues' was kind of what got you off the ground. Where did the idea for that come from?
'Puberty Blues' was written as revenge on all the surfy boys who treated women as nothing more than a life support system to our breasts. We were human handbags, decorative and demure, draped over the arms of our big surfy boyfriends. 'Puberty Blues' blew a literary raspberry at all that.
You've spoken about your child with Aspergers. Where did you find the confidence to speak out so candidly about certain aspects of your life?
Well, I am a very candid person. They don’t call me The Mouth From the South for nothing! But the one topic I never discussed was the fact that I have an autistic child. This is because I didn’t want to invade Julius’ privacy. But, when Jules was 21, I wrote a novel called 'The Boy Who Fell To Earth' about a single mum raising a child on the autistic spectrum. I asked Jules how he would feel about us coming out about his condition.
He read the novel and said “Well, Mum, it’s a celebration of idiosyncrasies, eccentricities and being different”... And I was like – “that’s exactly what is it! Thanks Jules”. And so, with his permission, I tentatively started talking about it – and I’m so glad I did. What the experience has taught me is that it’s always better to shine a light into a dark corner. And the message I want to impart is that there is no such thing as 'normal' or 'abnormal' but just 'ordinary' and extraordinary'.
Is there anything you've not addressed in a book or in an interview that you'd like to explore in the future?
Not really. I always write the book I wish I’d had, while I was going through something difficult. They’re like comedic manuals on life’s lessons. If you can laugh at the hard things, it takes the sting out of them. Although I am contemplating writing a book on tantric sex – I mean, imagine the research! Talk about ‘in depth'!
What are you excited about in regard to presenting this show in Adelaide?
Meeting so many great Adelaideans. I have a column in the Adelaide Advertiser every month, and I know from the letters I receive that you’re a wild pack of party animals!
Why do you think your show belongs at Adelaide Fringe?
Like me, the Fringe is a bit of an outsider. My novels come with a warning – Read at Your Own Risqué! And the girl talk I have on stage is similar – in other words, boys, you will definitely be ovulating by the interval!
