Natalie Palamides is in a state of flux. The Hollywood-based comedian, actor and podcaster is currently trialling and work-shopping a new stage show in Los Angeles. Simultaneously, however, she is preparing an encore presentation of Laid, her 2017 stage show, for her Melbourne International Comedy Festival debut.
“I have to go get my costume ready again while I’m trying to prepare a new show,” says Palamides. “Right now, I have a little toy motorcycle and a mannequin in my car from the show that I’m work-shopping – so now I’m going to have that plus my egg costume in my car. I’m not even sure how I’m getting my stuff across yet. Hopefully, I can find the stuff that I need while I’m over there. You guys have party stores in Australia, right?”
Laid is introduced with one peculiar sentence: “Laying an egg every day, a woman faces the decision: To raise it or eat it.” Full of costumes, props and mess, Palamides knows the show inside-out by this point – meaning its Australian run will be a liberating send-off.
“I’m way more loose with it when I’m doing the show now,” she says. “I love performing, obviously, and I’m proud of the show. That said, I’d say I’m definitely less careful now – I just throw it up into the air. I’ve done it so many times now that I feel like I’ve got a solution for basically everything that could possibly go wrong in a single performance. The most important thing is to have fun with it.”
Laid was devised and co-written with Phil Burgers, who also directs. Best known for his character Dr. Brown, Burgers has worked closely with Palamides on every last aspect of the show. It’s a fruitful collaboration, which Palamides notes was instrumental in getting the show off the ground. “I obviously can’t watch myself, and if he wasn’t there then I’d have to video myself and just go over it again and again in my own head,” she says.
“Phil gets what I’m doing,” she says. ” A lot of the time we’re building ideas off one another. We’re similar, but not to the point where we agree on everything. There’s definitely moments in Laid that I kept in that he didn’t think should be there – although he came around to them eventually. It’s good to have someone that’s able to help with shaping the concepts and ideas as they come.”
With her Melbourne International Comedy Festival run, Palamides will not only be making her Festival debut but also her maiden voyage to Australia.
“I’ve asked a couple of people, but I’ve never really gotten much detail. Everyone has insisted that I’m going to love it, though. They tell me Melbourne is the most beautiful city, and the coffee is amazing. I’m looking forward to seeing it, and hearing the accents. I’ve also been told to go visit the penguins – that’s definitely on the cards.”
