Felicity Ward’s show The Iceberg is all about appearance versus reality. A broad concept in itself, Ward explores what lies beneath the surface of a person, an idea and even the land of Australia itself. Equally poignant and hilarious, inspiration for The Iceberg has been drawn from the comedian’s personal life, as well as her reflections on Australia after moving to the UK. Sometimes you can’t see something clearly – even yourself or your home country – until you take a step back and really look.
One thing that really stuck with me from our last conversation was that Ward seemed determined to find something more funny – as opposed to rage-inducing – when it came to turning ideas into material. Considering thatThe Icebergcovers themes of politics and racism, I wonder whether she still has the same priorities – particularly with how the political climate has been over the past 12 months.
“Well, you have to laugh now or you’ll kill yourself,” she says. “A couple of days ago I was thinking, ‘I’m going to come back to Australia, and Tony Abbott might not be Prime Minister.’ That was an exciting thought. It’s been riveting watching it; it’s almost better than Netflix.”
The Icebergsold out seasons around Australia last year, but Ward’s upcoming encore dates will feature a rejigged show. “Because I was bringing the show to the UK I became very aware of how Australian-centric it was,” she explains. “So I had to do a bit of editing, and wouldn’t you fucking believe it – it made the show better!”
Audiences who saw the show last year will notice one particularly large artistic change this time around. “There used to be musical interludes throughout the whole show. When I got to London I had to preview the show to test the new material. I live in North London and I thought, ‘Fuck it, I’m not going to get a keyboard just for a preview.’ About halfway through the show I thought, ‘Ohhh, this goes heaps better without those sit-down interludes.’
“I find it a little bit tricky to edit once I’m onstage,” says Ward. “Some things naturally fall away, but as far as big changes [go], it’s hard. If I’m doing it in a festival it’s usually just about honing the material. So to have this be such an easy but crucial change to make that completely altered the flow of the show, it was so frustrating! But now without it, it means that we can just focus on the jokes.”
One of the most memorable anecdotes from the show last year involved Ward’s encounter with a particularly vile, misogynistic priest on Twitter. Before finishing up, I had to know whether the pair are still in touch, particularly because Ward has mentioned having a boyfriend now. “No, unfortunately! Sadly, I think he was a troll. Other people have told me that they’ve been bothered by him as well.”
Felicity Ward’s showThe Icebergis atThe Comedy Store onFriday March 6.
