Looking at funny side of divorce
ALMOST two years after her marriage broke down, Toowoomba woman Angela Ponting is using her heartbreak as inspiration for her very own cabaret show.
Ms Ponting’s show Smiling at Strangers is a mix of pop songs and stories that explores life after her divorce and the inevitable moment she had to start smiling at strangers again.
“So just under two years ago my partner left me, which immediately doesn’t sound like it is going to be funny,” Ms Ponting joked.
“This story is life after a break-up or divorce and how you go through this re-learning how to be single and the funny things that happen with that.”
Ms Ponting, 29, came up with the idea in December last year after finding the funny side to her new single life after five years of marriage.
“I was finding what I was going through really funny, going on Tinder and trying to date again,” she said.
“When I got with my partner Tinder didn’t even exist.”
Ms Ponting said heartbreak was such a huge topic, but one many people didn’t know how to talk about.
She hopes her show will start a conversation so other people experiencing what she did don’t feel so alone.
While this is her first show, Ms Ponting has been involved with theatre since she was 13, studied Bachelor of Theatre Arts - Stage Management at USQ and spent five years in the United Kingdom.
Her most recent on-stage performances was in the ensemble of this year’s Empire Theatre production of Wicked and as Paulette in last year’s Legally Blonde.
Smiling at Strangers will be performed at the Empire Theatre Studio today, Friday and Saturday at 8pm.
For tickets go to empiretheatre.com.au or get them at the Box Office.