Heartbreak is a universal experience, from lovers to a botched job interview, everyone has a heartbreak story. Cecilia Ronson takes the audience through an interactive comedy on all things heartbreak, but don’t be fooled, you will be cackling the whole way through.
Ronson was 17 years old when she first stepped into the stand-up comedy scene in Adelaide. She describes herself as being “extremely religious” and was yet to discover she wasn’t straight. The self-proclaimed “on the fly performer”, who has tried everything from jazz to swing dancing, is now debuting her first ever solo Fringe show. Despite trying out almost all the performing arts, she continues to come back to comedy. “It’s an on and off relationship. I do it for a little bit. I stop for a while. I go back to it. You know it’s a weird ex, I keep going back to. I always have feelings for them but like we’re not healthy together… but we always have fun,” she laughs.
“I’ve done little snippets of the Fringe and I kept on seeing people at open mics who were doing their own show and I was like that’s so cool, that’s a goal, that’s something I want to achieve too,” she says.
The Adelaide local took to the stage with a quick set in an improv show during the 2024 Fringe at the tiny venue of Curiositeas. This year, she is not only going solo, but at one of Adelaide’s infamous and beloved venues, Gluttony.
The idea of Breaking Hearts came from a night in a bar where Ronson was talking with friends about the premise of a podcast where guests talk about their heartbreak stories. “It’s such a universal thing that we’ve all experienced in some way. Maybe not romantically, maybe you didn’t get a job, or you had a friendship breakup, or you didn’t win a grand finale,” she says.
After a duo show fell through due to other commitments, Ronson was given the push she needed to go at it solo. Putting her anxiety out the way, her mind wandered to the podcast idea… what if she made a Fringe show around that idea of heartbreak? And thus Breaking Hearts with Cecilia Ronson was born.
“It’s got a catchy name, which all stems from ‘Cecilia’ by Simon & Garfunkel about how Cecilia breaks his heart. And I’m like…I’ve experienced some stuff, so maybe with the idea of this sketchy campy show and just a lot of hope and faith… maybe we could create something. And I’m kind of in love with it right now,” she says.
“It’s so cheesy but it’s the idea that if you are authentically yourself and you are joyful about it, if that’s the space you’re creating, people grab onto it. You do not have to have a particular label, you do not have to be in a particular community but I think that heartbreak is a universal experience.”
The show captures some of Ronson’s experiences in the past and how it has led to who she is today. “It’s such a joyful experience. My comedy really does hold a space of where I am at that time,” she says.
Ronson promises a “campy, high energy show” and a space for the creatives to join in. “There are opportunities for the theatre kids, for the public speaker or if you just have something to say to be a part of the show, engage, interact and let loose a little bit. We have 50 minutes in a great venue and I just want it to be super fun for everyone.”
Breaking Hearts with Cecilia Ronson, The Piglet at Gluttony, until 23 Mar