LIVE Magazine #244 Sept 30-Oct 14

Caroline Feraday
Britain’s Answer to
Amy Schumer
Exclusive by Levvy Carriker
Stand-up comedy and serious news journalism might seem unlikely
bed-fellows but for British comic Caroline Feraday they go hand in
hand. ‘I’ve been a story-teller for as long as I can remember. It’s just about different
reactions’.
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The television and radio personality from London has been wowing audiences in Los
Angeles for three years after moving to the City full time from her native UK.
Although she had her own network shows in the UK and appeared at Edinburgh
festival, and was selected for the World Series of Comedy in Las Vegas – which
is America’s 101 top stand-up comics competing — but Caroline says that doing
stand-up in California came about almost by accident.
‘I was used to being on air every day, and I think it’s like a muscle. You’ve got
to keep it moving otherwise it gets harder if you haven’t used it for a while. So
I did a small comedy gig in LA when I first moved over, really just to keep my
hand in with performing. There was a producer in the audience who chased me off
the stage and took me under her wing. My third gig in Los Angeles was the Comedy
Store on Sunset Boulevard. It was a dream come true. I used to come over from the UK
to cover the Oscars for UK broadcasters and imagine what it might be like to be on stage
there one day. And now I’ve played every room!’
Levvy Carriker: So you were a journalist in the UK?
Caroline Feraday: ‘Yes. I trained as a journalist and won an award from Prince Philip for journalism.
But I always DJ-ed and was obsessed with radio, and so although I joined my first radio station
as a reporter, they also gave me my own shows and I was DJ-ing the dance shows and chart
shows and then doing a lot of the speech content. Prince Philip told me that he didn’t know how I
keep up with everything I do! He was very charming’.
LC: And what’s this about being the opening act for the Spice Girls?
CF: ‘Yes, I was their support act at Wembley. Do you call that opening act here? It was an incredible
experience. I was about 19-years-old and playing this huge arena. I also MC’d massive gigs in Hyde
Park in London in front of 100,000 people. I remember being a little bit drunk and having one arm around
Lionel Ritchie and the other holding on some bright pink cowboy hat when I was about 20-years-old — on
the stage in front of a crowd you couldn’t see the back of — and singing ‘A Little Help From MY Friends’ with
him. It seemed perfectly reasonable at the time!’
LC:What do you talk about in your comedy show?
CF: Being a Brit in Los Angeles is endlessly chaotic and puzzling – I’m such a fish out of water here. So I’m
pretty self-deprecating about that experience and just have a good time with the audience. It’s mostly observational.
People say I’m a bit like a British Amy Schumer, which is very flattering indeed. I used to put a lot of
pressure on myself about doing stand-up, although people always told me to do it I thought it would be terrifying.
Now I say to stand-up friends of mine, “why didn’t you tell me before that it’s so much fun?” I just enjoy
making people laugh. I’d be doing the same if I wasn’t on stage, but it’s considered more acceptable to show
off like that if there’s a microphone in your hand.’
LC: What made you move from London to Los Angeles?
CF: Have you ever seen the weather in London? Also, I love narcissists and wanted to be completely surrounded
by them. Seriously, I was coming over here for years covering the awards ceremonies and was the
LA correspondent for Breakfast television for a stint, and fell in love with it and made good friends here.
I would come over to Palm Springs on vacation even when I lived in London. I remember the first time
I came to Palm Springs I couldn’t believe how beautiful it was, there’s something so magical about the
light and the mountains. And this lovely lady asked me to look after her purse while she went to use the
bathroom. I’m from London, you don’t ever take
your hand off your purse as it would get stolen —
much less leave it in the care of a total stranger
— and so I was totally hooked on what a lovely
quality of life it is. I am such a workaholic that I
wanted to move here when the timing was right
and I would be super busy. Then I wrote a book
which got bought and turned into a screenplay
so that was a helpful nudge, but I also felt like
I’d been lucky enough to achieve a lot of what
I wanted to in London so I was ready for some
new and fresh horizons.
Visit www.carolineferaday.com to find out
about upcoming shows
‘Like’ www.facebook.com/feradaycaroline
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