Kitty Flanagan mines her life for comedy gold

Kitty Flanagan usually knows immediately if a punchline works. If belly laughs and applause ring through a theatre, it’s on the money. But when creating her debut book Bridge Burning & Other Hobbies, the comedian’s only audience was a computer screen.

Kitty Flanagan usually knows immediately if a punchline works. If belly laughs and applause ring through a theatre, it’s on the money.

But when creating her debut book Bridge Burning & Other Hobbies, the comedian’s only audience was a computer screen.

“When I was writing about the funny stories in my life, it was hard not getting that instant feedback from an audience,’’ she says.

Kitty Flanagan's new book reveals what made her so funny.

“It hurt my head, too, because it’s different to how I speak on stage. I know this sounds wanky but I needed to find my writing voice.’’

Kitty is a television regular on shows such as Have You Been Paying Attention?, The Project and Utopia, and will be in Brisbane for a sellout show, Smashing!, at QPAC on May 19. She penned fresh material for her book.

“I didn’t want people to feel cheated if they had already seen my shows,’’ she says.

Readers can expect stories from Kitty’s childhood, including why her parents refused to let her do any more advertising campaigns following her television debut as a three-year-old, and why she attended a yoga camp as an eight-year-old. There are also stories from adulthood, including many relationship disasters.

“My book is full of failure on purpose because a tale of triumph is boring. You want to read when things go horribly wrong.’’

Not that Kitty’s life is bereft of success stories – a phone call “out of the blue’’ from Working Dog Productions, of The Castle fame, in 2013 changed her life. She was told a part had been written for her in the satire Utopia.

“I sat quietly for 20 years with my fingers crossed waiting to be invited to my first date with Working Dog. They have always been my comedy idols and heroes,’’ she says. “It’s a dream to be on the show. It’s beautifully written and funny, and I just learn my lines and turn up.’’

Kitty did not contemplate becoming a comedian until she was 22.

“I didn’t know I was funny. I just wanted to be on stage,” she says. “If my first stand-up gig had not gone so well I might not have persevered. I became so hooked.

“It never gets boring trying to get a laugh from a bunch of strangers.”

Bridge Burning and Other Hobbies, Kitty Flanagan, Allen & Unwin, $29.99