Move over Florence Nightingale, there's a new nurse in town, and her medicine is laughter!
Nurse Georgie Carroll has not only won the Best Comedy Show at the Adelaide Fringe, but has also graced the stages of 'Britain's Got Talent' and survived the chaos of the Edinburgh Fringe. This season, the comedy virtuoso is back with an encore that promises to be as contagious as COVID-19 was in 2020.
Carroll's journey from the intense world of nursing to the world of comedy is like a medical drama with a comedic twist. A nurse since 2000, she revelled in the chaos of intensive care and emergency rooms until she decided she needed a little more pandemonium in her life. Enter comedy – the adrenaline shot for the soul.
Reflecting on her comedic awakening, Carroll recalls migrating from Manchester to Australia in 2009, searching for hobbies. Comedy wasn't just a hobby; it was a revelation. "Something about the first time I got on stage was like, 'Whoa, this is a whole new part of my brain I've unlocked, and my belly and my soul and everything'."
Regarding her nursing career, Georgie states, “I deregistered last year. I was 400 per cent nurse when I was doing it. And then when comedy started taking over, I struggled to let nursing go for a long time. One, because it's a dependable income. Whereas comedy is absolute chaos. And then, I fell back, into COVID. Just because obviously, the hospitals were full, the theatres were empty."
Has Nurse Georgie Carroll always had a natural flair for humour? She briskly dismisses the idea that truly funny individuals go around asserting, "Yeah, I'm really funny". According to her, anyone making such a declaration probably lacks the comedic finesse.
Yet, during the darkest moments in the lives of others, she discovered solace in becoming their laughter lifeline. Reflecting on her life, she notes, "The most consistent advice I've received was, 'you should try comedy’.” With a playful jest, she adds, “No one’s ever said, 'You should be a model'.”
Carroll's upcoming show, 'Sista Flo 2.0', is no longer a baby – it's got teeth, and a trophy for Best Comedy Show from the Adelaide Fringe in 2022. The show has travelled, met Simon Cowell, and now it's returning home. "We've got rid of the organs we don't need. They're in a medical waste bin somewhere."
Describing her show, Carroll promises an hour of laughter, where audiences may laugh, gasp, cry, and maybe even hurt (but in a good way). "Give yourself an hour off. My comedy is absolutely designed to make you laugh, and you don't go home really having learned anything, but you might remember something you've forgotten that's important."
Carroll's comedy isn't just about laughter; it's a universal remedy for life's struggles, wrapped in hospital humour and gallows wit. It's suitable for everyone, except kids – they'll have to wait until they're old enough to appreciate the medicinal power of a well-timed punchline.
For aspiring comedians, Carroll prescribes wisdom from her mentor Michael Dwyer, "Other people do this. Why not you? You've got to get out and do as many booms as you can. Risk it for the biscuit, and back yourself."
So, if the trials of life have left you bedridden in the comedy ward, fear not! Nurse Georgie Carroll's 'Sista Flo 2.0' is the remedy you need – laughter, the ultimate prescription for whatever ails you.
Nurse Georgie Carroll plays The Roundhouse at The Garden Of Unearthly Delights 5-10 March, and The Vagabond at The Garden Of Unearthly Delights (Adelaide Fringe) 12-17 March.
