FELICITY WARD

FELICITY WARD

Hedgehog Infatuation

Australian comedian Felicity Ward isn’t really obsessed with hedgehogs but she’d love to have one as a pet. “It’s illegal to own a domestic hedgehog in Australia, believe me, I’ve looked,” she tells X-Press. Ward brings her fresh show The Hedgehog Dilemma to the Astor Theatre as part of the Perth International Comedy Festival from Wednesday, May 9, ‘til Saturday, May 12. Tickets through BOCS.

“To be honest, it’s hard to talk about this show and make it sound funny – The Hedgehog Dilemma or as I like to call it ‘How are you screwing your life up right now?’ - but relax, it’s the funniest thing I’ve ever written,” these are the words casually rattled off by comedian, TV personality and performer Felicity Ward when asked about her new show The Hedgehog Dilemma.

No, the show is not entirely about hedgehogs. For a hedgehog to stay warm, it must endure pain through physical contact but for it to stay unharmed, it must choose loneliness – it is this analogy for human intimacy that Ward explores in her latest show. Alongside this, she talks of a relationship breakdown and having to move back in to her mother’s house. “I last lived with my mum when I was 28 – big pill to swallow!,” Ward says, almost as if she’s still in shock.

“Bringing back boys was a no-no. Not from her, from me. I could not ‘casually’ sleep with someone at my mum’s house. Not that the offers were beating the door down.” But there were bonuses. “She’s probably the better cook,” she admits, talking of their domestic capabilities. “Except Spaghetti Bolognaise and hot Milos. She’s terrible at those but the best at everything else.”

Having grown up in the small coastal town Killcare in NSW, Ward made her big break in The Ronnie Johns Half Hour, an Australian sketch show on Channel 10 back in 2005. She’s since gone on to make appearances on Spicks And Specks, Thank God You’re Here, Good News Week and more. She’s been nominated and won multiple awards for her comedy shows over the years and thanks her family for her thick skin. “I’ve always had a thick skin,” she says. “I was raised at my family’s dinner table and that was the toughest crowd going. You had to be funny in our family or you’d be eaten alive.”

Aside from The Hedgehog Dilemma, Ward recently starred in Rob Sitch’s latest film Any Questions For Ben? alongside Josh Lawson and Rachael Taylor. She even managed to look at co-star Daniel Henshall (who played murderer John Bunting in Snowtown) normally on set. “It’s one of the best experiences I’ve ever had creatively,” she says, talking of her involvement with the film. “And I made a conscious decision not to see Snowtown beforehand so I could look at Dan [Henshall] and kiss him in the film without thinking ‘you bloody monster’.”

Aside from being involved in Andrew Denton’s super fresh show Randling, Ward is looking forward to making the trek over west to perform as part of the Perth International Comedy Festival, not only to chat hedgehogs but to partake in long overdue catch-ups. “I have a cousin that lives there so I’m super pumped about seeing her,” she says. “Oh! And a girl I was a camp counsellor with in America 10 years ago, I’m seeing her for the first time too. On top of that, I’ll probably head to the usual Perthy haunts and see all the lovely Perthy comics like Emma Zammit.”

_ANNABEL MACLEAN