With three best-selling books, sold out stand-up shows across the country and regular appearances on some of the Australia’s most-loved television programs, it’s safe to say Kitty Flanagan is a national treasure. But did you know the beloved comic grew up right on our doorstep?
North Shore Living sat down with the Monte Sant’Angelo College alumna to chat her love of stand-up, her hit TV show, Fisk, and dancing like a monkey.
Starting off, what was it like for little Kitty to grow up in Northern Sydney in the late 70s/80s?
I played a lot of tennis. I was what you might call a big ‘tennis dag’.
I belonged to Bareena Park in Balgowlah Heights. To borrow a term from kids today, we would ‘verse’ other teams at clubs up and down the Peninsula on a Saturday afternoon. Long Reef was always ‘too windy’, Bayview was ‘too far’, and Elanora Heights was ‘too hard to find’.
We liked playing at home because it meant you had to provide afternoon tea for the other team; it was an excuse to make your mother buy a Top Taste Jam Roll. Tennis, Top Taste, then telly, that was my Saturday. I’d come home from tennis and watch Eight is Enough and Magnum P.I. with my little brother, Michael. Good times.
You had a few different potential career paths after school (PE teacher, copywriter, even working on a crayfish farm). What was that final push that saw you take the stand-up stage?
I got fired from my advertising agency job. They said I was retrenched, but I’d rather say fired. Makes it sound like I was doing something outrageous rather than just sitting around being the least useful person at the agency.
Kitty will be taking her live stand-up show to Sydney this May.
I thought I’d try stand-up – just once – so I didn’t get to 40 and think, ‘Hmmm, I wonder if I could have done stand-up’. I genuinely only intended to do it once, fail miserably and thereby prove to myself that I couldn’t do it. I hadn’t counted on that first gig going well.
After that I was addicted. It was SUCH a rush. Strange people sitting in the dark, laughing at you – in a good way!
You then lived in London for a while, before coming back to Australia and becoming a regular on shows such as Utopia, The Weekly with Charlie Pickering,
Kitty says being able to collaborate with fellow comics on shows such as Network 10’s Have You Been Paying Attention? is the ‘greatest perk of the job’.
The Project and Have You Been Paying Attention? What’s it like getting to collaborate with so many of this country’s best comedians?
Working with other funny people is the greatest perk of this job. When you surround yourself with great people, they elevate you and make you better.
I met my favourite collaborator of all time, Tom Peterson, working on The Weekly. He knows how to get my stuff off the page and onto the screen exactly as I imagined it. That’s why I dragged him with me to direct Fisk. If I have my way, we’ll be working together until I die. I should probably tell him in case he had other plans.
You’re also the author of three highly successful books – Bridge Burning, 488 Rules for Life and More Rules for Life. What first sparked your foray into writing?
I was keen to have a go just to see if I could do it. Obviously, my dad is an author. My sister is also a published author, so I was under no illusion as to how hard it would be.
It’s so solitary. It requires so much discipline, and I am such a procrastinator. I don’t think I’ve ever worked so hard. A lot of people talk about having ‘an idea for a book’, but that’s the easy bit. Actually getting those words out of your head and on to the page is the tricky bit.
488 Rules for Life was particularly popular across the board. What do you think it is about the rules that Aussies resonate so well with?
If you read between the lines, it’s really just a book about common sense and courtesy, and maybe people feel like the world could use a bit more of that? I could probably re-release it with the title, ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you’ and find a whole new Christian market for it!
We must talk about the award-winning phenomena that is Fisk. Where did the idea for the show first come from?
The character of Helen has existed in many iterations and pilots that Penny [sister] and I have pitched over the years. Eventually, we met a producer who suggested setting a show in the world of probate law. I didn’t know what probate law was, but once he said, ‘wills and estates’ Penny and I thought, ‘Oh, that’s excellent storyline material’.
The success of my book 488 Rules also helped get the show across the line. Executives kept telling us that Helen was an unlikable character, but once the book was a hit, I was able to say, ‘This book is basically everything that Helen thinks, and people seem to like it’.
Kitty’s hit ABC TV show, Fisk, has won several awards including two AACTAs, a Logie and Best Comedy Series at the French Series Mania awards.
Audiences across the globe have really taken to the no-fuss, slightly grumpy suburban probate lawyer. Why do you think that is?
It sounds naff, but I think she’s relatable. My sister and I go to great lengths to try and keep her real. She can’t always win, but she can’t always lose either. There has to be balance. There have been times where I’ve cut something because, even though it’s funny, we think, ‘No one would say that in real life. It’s too clever’.
We were also really sick of seeing women on television who were ‘spanxed’ to the max to fit into their tight skirts, form fitting outfits, and ridiculous heels. Who can walk around an office all day like that? Helen’s a role model for people who like to be comfortable!
Your writing partner on Fisk is your sister, Penny. What’s it like working so closely with a sibling?
It’s amazing. I’m so lucky.
It’s incredibly hard to find a comedy writing partner. There has to be total trust between you, because if you say something unfunny, they have to be able to tell you, ‘Hmmm that’s not funny’ and you can’t take offence. On the flip side, you have to be willing to tell the other person, ‘That’s not funny’, which is really hard. Basically, you have to be willing to crush and be crushed.
It’s so important to be able to speak freely and say unfunny stuff, because the unfunny stuff invariably leads to the funny stuff!
You’re returning to Sydney in May for several stand-up shows. What can audiences expect?
I think I’m still on a high that we’re all allowed back in theatres again. I had no idea how much of my identity was tied up with performing until it all went away during the pandemic.
Kitty is also the author of three highly-successful books.
When things first started opening up and we got to do a few shows, I was that excited to be back that I was literally dancing onto the stage! My sister filmed me one night and showed me. Honestly, I looked like a dancing monkey. I’ve tried to tone it down, but I’m pretty excited about these Sydney shows, so I can’t guarantee the dancing chimp won’t make an appearance.
Also, apologies to my mother in advance. I do talk about her a little bit… Just a little bit, and only because I love her! It’s an homage, as they say.
With such a successful career in television, what is it about stand-up that keeps you coming back to the stage?
Live shows are the only way to test whether you’re still funny. I’m still surprised at how wrong you can get it. Sometimes I write something, and I think, ‘Oh man, this is going to kill’ and it gets nothing. Other times, I’ll do a little throwaway and that gets a laugh I totally wasn’t expecting.
Are there any other projects on the horizon?
Penny, Tom, and I are working on getting another TV show up. It’s also high time I wrote another book. And I should probably re-do my kitchen at some stage. I also need to exercise more. So, I have a big to-do list.
I wish I was better at multi-tasking, but I’m truly hopeless. I can do multiple things badly but only one thing well at a time. So, for now, that one thing is stand-up.
Kitty Flanagan LIVE! will run from 2 May – 20 May in Sydney. Tickets can be purchased via kittyflanagan.com.