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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Lifestyle
As told to Katie Cunningham

Three things with Becky Lucas: ‘I have about 10 to 12 hairs growing out of my chin’

Comedian Becky Lucas in a blue long-sleeved dress posing between two female clowns in frilly red polka-dot dresses, against a red velvet curtain
‘The way I live my life would make most people shudder’: Becky Lucas will perform at the Human Kind summit in Sydney in March 2023. Photograph: @lifewithoutandy

Even if you haven’t made it to one of her standup sets, you’ve probably laughed with Becky Lucas somewhere else. The Brisbane-born comedian keeps busy – she’s been a writer on shows like Please Like Me and The Other Guy, penned a book of essays called Acknowledgements and co-hosts The Becky & Cam Show podcast. She also performed on Conan O’Brien’s late-night talk show in 2019 – making her the first Australian female to do so. In March, she’ll. be performing at Sydney’s Human Kind summit.

While she may be overachieving in the professional sense, Lucas’s home life is a less streamlined. One item that cuts through the chaos is a cordless phone-charging pad. Here, the comedy star sings the praises of that very useful object and shares the stories behind other low-cost but high-value household items.

What I’d save from my house in a fire

My tweezers. I am afflicted by a terrible condition in which I have about 10 to 12 (conservative estimate) black hairs growing out of my chin at all times. When I was a young girl, I thought that in adulthood, my daily to-do list would take on more of a serious nature. Yet here I am, devoting serious time each day to keeping an eye on the different stages of chin hair growth so I can decide which ones are ready to be plucked. I’d rather not have any chin hairs, but I do get a tinge of satisfaction from starting the day with a task that can be so easily executed.

A black pair of tweezers
‘When I was a young girl, I thought that in adulthood, my daily to-do list would take on more of a serious nature’: Lucas’s prized pair of tweezers. Photograph: Supplied by Becky Lucas

It might sound vain, but if there was a house fire, the ensuing chaos would mean there would be no way to know when I could nip to the shops and buy myself another pair of tweezers. I’d hate to be speaking to a firefighter as they asked me serious questions about the blaze while I stood there obsessively caressing the spot where a chin hair has poked through. It might even make me look as though I was responsible for the fire, as rubbing my chin repetitively with a far away, distant look in my eye could make me seem like a villainous pyromaniac, ruminating on her best house fire yet.

My most useful object

I was recently gifted a cordless charging pad from a good friend who is all about maximising the ease of his life. This is not how I live, which is why my friends seem to give me things they hope will encourage me to be more like them. And I appreciate it!

The way I live my life would make most people shudder. I don’t fold my clothes, I write down my appointment times on spare scraps of paper and I have no real filing system for anything, so come tax time I’m on the verge of tears while frantically searching my computer for a document … until I give up and run a bath to calm down.

So at the moment, this sexy little cordless charging station has changed my life. Instead of having cords and little charging bases scattered around the home , I have it set up right near my door and when I get home, I simply place my phone on there. Plus there’s the added bonus of always knowing where it is, instead of stomping through the house five times a day screaming: “I’ve lost my phone again, I can’t believe it!”

The item I most regret losing

A few years ago, my boyfriend came home from op-shopping with the greatest gift of all time. It was a black XL T-shirt with Patsy Stone from Absolutely Fabulous on it, smoking a cigarette. I loved it. I have no idea where it is, and I miss it every day.

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