Nightshift laughs with nurse Georgie

A CELEBRATION of her “beloved” former profession, stand-up comedian Georgie Carroll’s Sista Flo 2.0 is coming to the Civic Hall early next month.
The former nurse said she’s bringing 80 minutes of laughs to Ballarat, which medicos may find reminiscent of the hospital break room.
“It is staff room banter,” she said. “If you want to know what nurses talk about on a night shift, it’s that.
“It’s not for the faint hearted, don’t bring your kids, but there’s a lot of love there too. We’re very judgy, but we always care.”
A Brit now based in Australia, Carroll has made a name for herself, regularly selling out at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and performing on Britain’s Got Talent in 2023.
Clearly audiences have connected with Sista Flo 2.0, which won Best Comedy Show at Adelaide Fringe Festival in 2021.
“There’s a bit of nursing in everyone,” she said. “Everybody’s had to look after someone or had to be looked after.
“The audience is usually 60 per cent healthcare workers, so if you’re in Ballarat, don’t get ill that day, because nobody’s working.
“My aim is that the audience come out saying they haven’t laughed that hard in forever.”
After a tumultuous few years for the healthcare sector, the pressure on hospitals continues, and Carroll said she aims to help medicos feel a bit better, if only for the night.
“Laughter is the best medicine,” she said. “Although actual medicine is better, so I’m probably not as useful as I was in hospital in intensive care and emergency.
“But sometimes I pinch myself. Hopefully, I get to make these rooms of people, who look after everyone else, feel better. I don’t get to nurse anymore, so this makes me feel part of it.
“In the last couple of years, it’s been full on. The staff can come out, see each other without a mask on, get done up, and see the fun side of this workforce, rather than just the stress.”
Sista Flo 2.0 will be performed at Civic Hall on Saturday 3 February at 8pm and visit hermaj.com for tickets.