Lana Schwarcz picks up Canadian accolade for outstanding solo performance as she prepares for Adelaide Fringe
Comedian Lana Schwarcz is heading to the Adelaide Fringe with the funny, defiant and moving show she created in response to breast cancer.
Judges at the Ottawa Fringe, in Canada, voted it the outstanding solo performance of their festival.
Lovely Lady Lump mixes jokes, personal stories and even a bit of puppetry and ballet in a theatrical romp that she describes as being a good-luck story – because she was diagnosed early, underwent extensive treatment including surgery, and survived.
With over 16,000 breast cancer diagnoses in 2016 in Australia, Lana’s show tunes into the experiences of huge numbers of women everywhere.
Speaking about the show she says: “If I’ve done my job properly there will be two types of tears – they will cry with laughter and have genuine tears of sadness.”
The awards she has picked up in Canada and in New Zealand (Best Theatre Award, Dunedin and 720ABC Best Theatre, Perth) suggest that audiences and judges agree that she has certainly got it right.
Lovely Lady Lump is in Adelaide from 17-26 February at Gluttony and is a chance to see how someone with a vivacious charm and love of life has faced up to severe illness and even the possibility of death.
As the mixed fortunes of her breasts are the subject of the show, they too play a starring role as Lana relives what it’s like to be medicalised, scanned and bombarded with radiation.
Lana says: “So many people face cancer – some live, others die and all face a hugely tough time. After being diagnosed I thought ‘fuck this’, and started writing jokes. If there was one thing I could do was reduce the fear by finding what was funny in the situation.”