James Macfarlane chats with Tania Lacy about returning to the Fringe after 29 years with her show Everything's Coming Up Roses, her love of home crowds and her illustrious showbiz career.
This time around, I’m wiser and stronger… and 29 years older.
Tania Lacy! How are you?
Hello! I’m great, thanks for asking. I’m very excited about coming to Edinburgh, which is not so far away now. It feels like time is speeding up, which always happens when I am excited about something.
So, for those of us who aren’t familiar with you, how would you describe yourself?
I would say I am a compulsively creative person. I love performing and I love comedy. I have been in and around showbiz for 35 years, so I’ve seen a lot and I’ve learned a lot. I am trying to be more ‘truly me’ with my performances. I have found it difficult but I know it’s working. It’s the hard stuff that makes performing exciting for me. I sometimes wish I had chosen an easier career path and then, I hear people laughing at my jokes and I think, no, this is exactly what I’m meant to be doing.
You’re returning to the Fringe this year after 29 years. Are you excited to be back?
Yeah, now that you mention it, 29 years is a long time between festivals, but I am excited to be coming back. I think I was too immature to truly appreciate the opportunities on offer for me last time I was at the Fringe. I regret not capitalising on the gains I had made and then a battle with serious mental illness prevented me from capitalising on anything at all for a while. This time around, I’m wiser and stronger… and 29 years older.
Your show this year is called Everything’s Coming Up Roses. What can we expect from this show?
Despite the name and despite the fact I am constantly looking for the ‘roses moments’ in life, there will be no roses. And I guess that’s what this show is about; doing all the right things and expecting life will reward one accordingly. Unfortunately, life doesn’t work that way. I think people can expect to relate strongly to the material, they can expect to laugh out loud and they can expect to find me wearing some really nice outfits. Oh, and they can expect a really special surprise at the end. I can’t say too much, but I did choreograph and dance in Kylie’s Locomotion video, sooooo… Just know it’s a life changing moment. Maybe there are ‘roses moments’ after all.
You’ve already performed this show for Australian audiences. In your experience, how do Australian audiences differ from those around the world? Do you prefer a home crowd?
Actually, I love home crowds but I don’t have a preference for them. Sometimes, I think my past successes can taint a home crowd’s experience of who I am now. They might be hoping to see the 24 year old wild-child of Australian television which is impossible to deliver because I’m not that person anymore, and it would be a little sad if I were. Having said that, I find Australian audiences to be very giving, they love to laugh and they laugh loud, which is a comedian’s dream. When I was living in Berlin, I thought the Germans would be a tougher crowd, but turns out they’re not. They really do enjoy a good guffaw.
You’ve had such a fantastic showbusiness career, doing many things from being a choreographer to writing novels. Was there a moment in your career when you fell in love with stand-up comedy?
I did indeed fall in love with stand-up comedy. It wasn’t an ‘Oh my God, I love stand-up’ moment, like it wasn’t a sudden realisation. I had been doing stand-up in Berlin for maybe 6 months and gradually I noticed I was happier for it. That’s when I realised performing stand-up was enhancing my mood. I was happier making people laugh. They feel good, I feel good, it’s a win/win.
Thanks so much for speaking to me! Finally, do you have any shows that you’re excited to see when you’re in Edinburgh?
Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate it. Shows that I’m excited to see whilst in Edinburgh? I’m glad you asked. I really want to see Ashley Barnhill: Texas Titanium (Show ‘Bout Getting a New Skull). It sounds really interesting, as does Ashley. I think we’re going to be new best friends. I think Madeleine Hamilton: Piping Hot looks funny. Great poster. The common theme with regard to the shows I’ll be seeing is ‘women’ because right now, I believe women are doing the more interesting work. You heard it here first.
Tania Lacy’s new stand-up show ‘Everything's Coming Up Roses’ is at Just The Tonic @ The Caves - Just The Fancy Room at 7.30pm from 3rd – 26th August (except 14TH) for tickets go to www.edfringe.com
