'I just don’t want to live like that any more.'

Australian comedian Judith Lucy has revealed that she is quitting stand-up after 35 years on the antipodean circuit.

In a candid article published by the ABC, the 54-year-old says: ‘I’m done. I’m saying goodbye to something that has defined me more than anything else – stand-up comedy.’

Although she said she found writing stand-up a ‘cathartic’ way to deal with  everything from the death of her parents to the patriarch, she says that she re-examined her life during the pandemic ‘and realised I wasn’t very happy’.

‘I came to understand that the angst I was experiencing due to the pandemic was not that different to how I felt most of the time,’ she said.

And she added: ‘This hasn't been an easy decision. Stand-up has given me friends, community, travel, adventures, sex, a public profile and let's not forget, money. But the most precious gift has been my relationship with the people who come to see me.’

Lucy, who has been an occasional visitor to the UK, explained more on her podcast, Judith Lucy – Overwhelmed and Living, telling listeners: ‘I just can’t do it any more.

‘I’ve been stuck in a loop. I’m finally done with the constant anxiety, the self-medicating and the grind of touring. I also want to fly a lot less.

‘I know, it’s not like I’m working in an Amazon factory, I should just get over myself. But I’ve lurched from one job, show, gig, to the next, and I just don’t want to live like that any more.’

Published: 9 Dec 2022