To say Nikki Osborne’s life is full-on would be an understatement.
Juggling family, some intense adulting, and a successful career that has progressed from presenter and model to sometimes controversial comedian, the comic has somehow found some time in her busy schedule to pen a new show, 'Too Far?' ready for her appearance at the Brisbane Comedy Festival. So, in Nikki’s book, how far is too far?
Dancing on a line with her new material, Nikki explains, “there’ll be social commentary as a reflection of the year that was. There’ll be politics, there’ll be inappropriate topics that are considered taboo.
“I’ve called it 'Too Far?' because I was tired of people complaining about what they see in a comedy show. So, if you’re coming to a show called 'Too Far?' you know there are things that could possibly offend.
“It’s basically a screamer that if you’re coming in here, you can’t complain, because the writing’s on the wall!”
Nikki’s show, she says, is not diluted or balanced comedy. “Bugger it!” she says to any ideas of demure structure and content. “I allocate 20 per cent of the show to ad lib,” Nikki says of her writing process. “I really like to disrupt the audience, which really wakes them up, and I find that’s when you have a cracker of a show.”
Throughout her comedic journey, Nikki has always liked to poke at the bear. With the new material, it sounds as if Nikki considers there’s a big red button she still needs to push. “There’s a very large audience that does not want diluted comedy, and this show is for them,” she says. “This show will not win any awards, because the panel will go ‘Oh we can’t have her saying that, we can’t reward this, we can’t reward that!’
“I’m doing this for the punters, not the prizes.”
In many ways, particularly regarding the social commentary portion of the show, Nikki will be pushing against the narrative, attempting to provide comic relief. “It’s like trying to throw question marks around the status quo,” she says, “ as opposed to saying ‘This is bullsh.t!’
“There’s a lot of social engineering going on at the moment which is manipulated by the news, the mainstream, social media. You’ll probably find fact checkers are people that work for the dole! Like, honestly, this is what people are basing their opinions on!
“So I’m all about free thinking. And I’m just saying ‘F... it!’"
Moving forward with her headstrong, carefree mantra, the reception to 'Too Far?' won’t necessarily have a direct impact on what creative ventures come next for Nikki. “I’ve found so far that toeing the line gets you no where and being honest has made you cutthroat.
“As long as you really believe in what you’re saying, people will cheer you on. As soon as you start trying to appease your critics, you’re stuffed!”
Nikki Osborne plays Brisbane Powerhouse 4-8 August.
