We’re a week into the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and Jayne Steer kicks off her two week run of Addikted at Underground Comedy next week. We caught up with Jayne to talk comedy as a drug, hard-earned perspective and why her story might hit closer to home than you’d expect.
What do you find ‘addictive’ about comedy? Funnily enough, I did discover in rehab that making people laugh is actually like a drug, so laughter in itself is addictive. For me, I love when the audience are able to laugh at something they otherwise would not think to, it’s giving permission to laugh at life when it’s hard and rough and ugly.
What’s the strangest advice you received that became relevant many years later? Generic, but probably, ‘do what you love’. For so long I chased the corporate dream and pushed my creativity to the side, and I think after my mum passed I finally gave myself permission to actually just do what I love , which is writing and performing.
What would you like the audience to learn from Addickted? That we’re all human just trying to navigate the crazy world we exist in. There’s a lot of hatred and division in the world at the moment and we’re seeing addiction rates sky rocket as a result. It’s not about rich or poor, its about the human condition and the humanity inside us that sets us apart. I guess I’d like people to learn that addiction is fundamentally indiscriminate, but it seems a bit more fun if you’ve got lots of money.
Who do you think needs to see this show? Anyone who’s ever lost a parent who you had a complicated relationship with. People who have struggled with mental illness and addiction or if you’ve known someone who has struggled with these things, maybe this will shed a bit of a light on the why.
Why should people come and see your show? If you’ve been wanting to go to Thailand but the economy has got you down, my show offers you the next best thing – a unique retelling of my stay at a luxury Thai rehab centre, it’s like the Real Housewives of Rehab.
Catch Jayne Steer at Melbourne International Comedy Festival at Underground Comedy Thursday to Sunday, 9th April – 19th April. Grab your tickets here.
