Sometimes it's hard to see the good through all the bad, but all it takes is a silver lining to turn things around.
Comedian Kirsty Webeck loves a good silver lining, and she's an expert at spotting them too. She's back on stage after hitting Zoom to make us laugh, with a show aptly titled 'Silver Linings'.
“It's about how there's often a positive side to things. I'm sharing a bunch of silly stories from the past 12 months that exemplify that there's often a silver lining,” Kirsty says. “I'm also covering off on how there doesn't have to be a silver lining and it's okay for things to be rough sometimes. I've got a story that I've been desperate to tell on stage for years that perfectly proves that sometimes you don't have to look for the bright side. I guess what I'm saying, is that I'm unequivocally solving all the world's problems with this show.”
Kirsty entered the comedy scene back in 2013 – a five-minute set at a comedy workshop lit the spark, and she got straight into writing (and then performing!) a full-length show.
With material good to go, and a background in public relations at her disposal, Kirsty sold more than 100 tickets to her first major performance in her hometown of Canberra. The rest is history.
So, at the beginning of it all, how does the material form?
“Whenever something funny happens in my life that I think will be great for the stage, I jot it down in the notes on my phone,” Kirsty answers.
“When it comes time to write a show, I go through the notes and choose the stories for the show, then I fill them with jokes to make them as funny as possible.
“My goal every time I go on stage is to make everyone in the audience laugh and to have a bit of escapism while they're with me. I think my brand of comedy is good, silly fun without a victim.”
Kirsty does advise that sometimes, if something happens that passes the hilarious test, it may just need to get its own spotlight in her set, regardless of how close her gig might be!
“One of my favourite bits in the show happened about a week ago. I found it so funny and thought there was so much in it, that I got rid of a whole section that I'd been working on for weeks in order to put the new bit in,” she reveals. “It's about something that happened to my social futsal team and I love that team so I'm so thrilled to be able to include a section dedicated to the recent saga.”
Kirsty Webeck plays The Rechabite (Perth Comedy Festival) 5-7 May, Enmore Theatre (Sydney Comedy Festival) 13-15 May, and Brisbane Powerhouse (Brisbane Comedy Festival) 24-29 May.
