Comedian Urzila Carlson to perform in Napier for hospice

Comedian Urzila Carlson is all too happy to waive her stage wage for a great cause. Photo/File

For leading laughter lady Urzila Carlson there was never any doubt about where she was going to be on the first Saturday night of February.

She would be on stage.

And there was never any doubt about what her fee for her laugh-studded performance would be.

Nothing.

When she got an email from the Cranford Hospice crew in Hawke's Bay asking if she would be available to be part of a fundraising show to help them in their crucial pursuit of equally crucial funding there was no hesitation at all.

"Absolutely," was Urzila's response.

"This is such a good cause so I was all too happy to get aboard," she said, adding that she was quickly on the phone to a couple of fellow entertainers to check our their availability for the Comedy For Cranford evening which is being staged at the MTG Theatre in Napier on February 3.

Jesse Griffin, acclaimed for his dry deliveries and sharp humour, and who drops by as American country music character Wilson Dixon, was keen to put the ring around the date on the calendar.

And the show's MC Vaughan King, well-known for his part on The Real NZ Tour, also had no hesitation.

Urzila said there was no question about Vaughan's involvement as his father had recently passed away in Gisborne.

Cancer claimed him, and like so many he was assisted and comforted through the hospice system.

She has also seen this first hand.

"Cancer is the number one killer in our family," Urzila said.

She lost her dad to pancreatic cancer about two years ago and yes, he had also received hospice comfort.

"I am always keen to help," Urzila said.

And it will not be the first time she has put her remarkable comedy talents to the fore in the name of helping others.

"I do heaps — charities, funds for operations — at least one every two weeks because it is all about giving back."

The week after her Napier show she will be part of a fundraising show for child cancer awareness in Auckland.

For the audiences it is a double bonus, for they get to see and hear some great comedy action, and at the same time knowing that the money they have paid over will be used for a very good cause.

"We are simply stoked with the generosity of the comedians to do this show for us, and we can't thank our sponsors enough," Cranford Hospice marketing and fundraising manager Nathalie van Dort said.

The hospice has been joined by Pan Pac, Willis Legal, the Bronwyn Kay Agency and the Napier City Council in getting the show to the Napier stage.

"Comedy can be a great way to share time with family and friends" said hospice chief executive Janice Byford-Jones.

"We are very lucky to have these comedians take time from their schedules to come to Hawke's Bay and support Cranford Hospice".

Urzila said the audience will be treated to "all sorts of stuff" and she and her colleagues were looking forward to underling the fact that so often laughter is the best medicine.

Comedy For Cranford, MTG Century Theatre, Saturday, February 3 from 8pm. Tickets start at $43.25 through Ticketek.