Amy Hetherington returns home, baby in tow, to deliver her award-winning stand-up show Crying Over Spilt Milk

Albany-born and raised comedian Amy Hetherington wasn’t always destined for bright lights and rowdy applause. The now successful performer once had much humbler aspirations in the media industry, studying journalism and film at university before moving to Darwin with her now husband. Hetherington discovered comedy thanks to a charity fundraiser in Darwin. “I got into comedy by accident,” she said. “It was a dare, I was doing a fundraiser for ‘Ocsober’, which is like a month of alcohol. “My gimmick was to do things you’d never do sober and somebody was like, I’d never done stand-up comedy sober. “So I had to do it because they donated $200 to the charity, and I liked it. “That’s how it all started.” Like many comics, Hetherington describes her first attempt at a stand-up routine as “awful”. “But I had a lot of fun doing it, which I think is the main thing,” she laughed. “I think every time we do something out of our comfort zone, if you enjoy it, that’s a good sign. “Now it’s my full-time job I guess. “It’s funny how sometimes you stumble into something that you’re meant to be doing. “But no Hollywood movies for me where I was great the first time, lots of work has been put in to get where I am now.” Born and raised in the Great Southern, Hetherington said she was lucky to grow up in such a supportive community. “I had a spoiled childhood in Albany, I think anyone who grew up down there knows how lucky they are,” she said. “You get to have beaches all to yourself and you get to be outdoors and surrounded by this really beautiful community. “I was always a very outgoing kid. “I did all the Southern Edge Arts classes and was head girl at Albany Senior High School. “I was just a bit of a loud human being, but I didn’t do comedy until I moved to Darwin. “I think it was one of those things where you sometimes take up new hobbies and new activities when you moved to a new place.” After high school, Hetherington moved to Perth to study journalism and film at university. “I went to university, as most people do, and I met a boy who ended up getting a job in Darwin so I followed him up there,” she said. “That boy is now my husband so it’s actually a nice story. “He’ll be coming with me back to Albany to help look after the baby while I do the show.“ Hetherington has now made the balmy tropics of Darwin her home and comedy her job. “I used my degree a little bit when I got to Darwin, but now I do kind of comedy and emceeing full time,” she said. “It’s one of those things where who knows what you end up doing after you leave high school. “Darwin is completely opposite sides of the country to Albany, but I’ve actually moved my mum, my dad, and my sister all out of Albany and up to Darwin. “Sorry Albany, I stole everyone and brought them up to the tropics.” Hetherington has been touring her new show Crying Over Spilt Milk all over the country, gaining critical acclaim along the way. Hetherington said the show was about being a new parent and the joy pain and madness that is involved with that. “This one I’m really excited to bring back, it’s won a bunch of awards and I think it’s the best writing I’ve ever done,” she said. “I guess the catalyst for writing the show was when I had my baby someone messaged me on social media to say I wouldn’t be able to tour and do comedy anymore because I wouldn’t be able to handle it. “So the show’s kind of written in spite. “I’ve taken it to nearly every State and Territory in Australia with the baby on my hip, just to prove somebody wrong. “I’m really excited to come back to Albany and do the show to friends and family and old teachers and old sporting coaches and everyone that’s been there since the beginning of my existence. “I’m also excited to come back with the baby and introduce her to everybody because she does the show with me for the first bit; she’s on my hips when I do the joke. “So it’s a nice little homecoming for her as well.” The show will start at the family-friendly time of 3pm so new parents and babies can attend. “We’ve been pitching it as BYO baby, it’s been really fun doing those baby-friendly shows,” Hetherington said. “I find sometimes times new parents can be a bit scared leaving the house without the bub or finding a babysitter. “Going to see comedy they might feel like their baby is going to do something weird or interrupt the comedian. “At this show, that’s totally OK, we want as many babies as Albany wants to bring to the show. “It’s been fun doing these baby-friendly shows. In Alice Springs I think there was something like 50 babies in the audience and it was absolute chaos, but it’s so fun. “It’s cool to create a space for new parents to feel comfortable and not feel like they’re a burden on anybody.” Tickets to Crying Over Spilt Milk are available on the AEC website. The show will be at the Albany Entertainment Centre on February 5.