Chloe Petts is the kind of person who makes an interview feel less like an interview and more like a particularly good chat.
She’s warm, sharp and quick-witted, letting you in on the joke rather than delivering it from a distance.
This year, Petts is bringing her show Big Naturals to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival after a successful run at Edinburgh Fringe. The show focuses on lad culture- something Petts is intimately familiar with thanks to her lifelong love of football.
Trying to research a comedy show ahead of time is a strange exercise, with vague descriptions that add a sense of mysticism- a handful of words about ‘identity’, maybe something about ‘belonging’ or ‘fitting in’, and sometimes the promise of a surprising twist. Helpful? Not always.
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So I ask Petts directly what the show is actually about. Not beating around the bush, she says, “I am talking about lad culture in the UK, and the implications it has on people who are masculine now.”
Simple enough. Though, ‘lad culture’ can be complex. It’s a social phenomenon that spills across pubs, footy stands, group chats and yes, comedy stages. “Everywhere in the world has guys that enjoy taking up space perhaps because they’ve never been told that they need to be considerate of other people’s space.” Petts says, nonchalantly. “In terms of comedy, I think what people think looks funny is a straight white man who will be- some may call it ‘cheeky’, others might call it ‘actively rude and not funny’.”
It’s a sharp observation, but Petts is quick to acknowledge that things have shifted in recent years. The stand-up landscape has broadened, and audiences are increasingly drawn to voices that look and sound different from the old template. She admits that laddiness might have a space in comedy, but it shouldn’t be the only flavour on the menu.
Big Naturals mentions Petts’ previous experience in a Christian rock band. Naturally, I’m fascinated. The pipeline from Christian rock musician to queer stand-up comedian feels niche, but for Petts the reasoning was fairly practical. “I was a laddish teenage who wanted to be in a band, but I wasn’t good enough to be in a mainstream band. So I had to go ask the Christians to be in theirs.” It’s hard to argue with this level of logistical honesty.
Performing, in one form or another, has always been attractive to Petts. From a young age she knew she wanted to be on stage, a desire she described with refreshing self-awareness as a need for attention and validation. Eventually that instinct led her toward comedy, but her love for music never disappeared.
“It’s something that I’ve got back into just recently. Me and Nicola and Rosie Dempsey are in a wedding covers band. We’re playing at a wedding in the middle of the year and that’s so fun. It’s my favourite creative output at the moment.”
From an outsider’s perspective, stand-up feels a little overwhelming. Performing the same show night after night, city after city, somehow managing to make it feel fresh and new each time. Petts’ approach to this is, unsurprisingly, very practical.
“What I’ve learned is right at the beginning when you’re first writing it and you’re really excited about it, you need to make sure that if there are any bits where you think, ‘ugh I have to say this again?!’, You cut it immediately. As soon as that feeling happens, just cut that bit.”
For Melbourne, this means that we’re getting the best of the best when it comes to Pett’s hour, Big Naturals. Of course, performing in different cities also means learning to read a room quickly, which is something Petts has down-pat by now.
“Sometimes you can see if an audience is a bit more playful or if they’re sharing your lived experience. That’s when I’ll usually throw in extra bits that I might have cut because I feel like they’ll get it.”
Big Naturals is show about lad culture, delivered by someone who understands it from the inside, with the added experience of having escaped via Christian rock bands and wedding cover gigs. Honestly, it sounds like a pretty solid night out.
Chloe Petts is performing Big Naturals at Melbourne Town Hall’s Portrait Room from 26 March – 19 April. Get tickets here.
