Image: Felicity Ward, Melbourne International Comedy Festival
Mental illness and toilet humour are topics that only the savviest of comics can pull off, yet What if There is no Toilet? sees Felicity Ward playing a royal flush.
In an amicably self-deprecating way, What if There is No Toilet? illustrates Ward’s personal struggle with anxiety, depression and IBS – a triple whammy. Comedy gold? Not necessarily; but in her capable hands we’re treated to a unique insight into what it’s like to live with a mental illness – and it’s dang funny to boot.
Known for talking openly and honestly about her experience with anxiety, particularly in her ABC documentary Felicity’s Mental Mission, this show delves even further into the experience of anxiety, with the format of the one woman show allowing for longer anecdotes in a more intimate setting.
Ward even creates a character – Beryl – to illustrate the annoying voice in her head: one who also seems to have terrible taste in music. It’s relatable – let’s face it, we all have a Beryl – but it’s also an astute portrait of what a bloody pest that voice can be.
Toilets and toilet paper adorn the stage, and while they seem to function only as water bottle storage facilities, it’s a nice touch to round out her stories of her crippling fear of not being near a toilet – especially while on stage for an hour.
Good comedy takes issues that are typically taboo or unspoken of and gives us an insight into them while making us laugh at the same time. In this Ward is a pro.
4 stars out of 5
Felicity Ward – What if There is No Toilet?
Melbourne International Comedy Festival
ACMI, Melbourne
24 March – 17 April
