Urzila Carlson is the MC at this Saturday's Auckland Lesbian Ball. Urzila Carlson, the woman described by Lucy Lawless as "the funniest Kiwi stand-up ever" will be the MC at Auckland’s Lesbian Ball this weekend. The hilarious “lesbitarian” gives us a taste of what we can expect, and even offers some outfit suggestions. If you haven’t heard the comedy of New Zealand’s best South African import yet, your funny bone is missing out. The woman who first did stand-up as a dare has conquered the scene and forged a career out of cracking jokes. The Billy T nominee is now everywhere from TV show 7 Days to being part of a gig with her massive fan Lucy Lawless, and now, the Lesbian Ball. When we speak she is just back from the Queenstown Winter Festival, has just filmed an episode of Paul Henry’s Would I Lie To You, is working on a new TV show with Jeremy Corbett and Paul Ego, and is about to head to Napier for a bar gig. “It’s all glamour all the time,” Carlson jokes. “I’m really stoked. I’m super busy and what a great problem to have," she says. “I’ve MC’d things before, other things, but never a lesbitarian ball,” she adds, explaining she performed at the Big Gay Out three years ago, but hasn’t had a chance to do anything in the gay community before. “Well actually I did that thing with Lucy Lawless,” she says of Lawless’ Girls Behaving Badly show in May, which also featured musicians Anika Moa and Julia Deans. “I didn’t think it was going to be a gay gig, but wouldn’t you know it, it was!” Carlson says of the crowd. Before the show Lawless, a straight lesbian icon across the globe, described Carlson as the “funniest Kiwi stand-up ever,” in a weekend newspaper. “I love her man, so I was blown away when I saw that. I was like, really?” Carlson says. “I didn’t even think she would know who I was!” Carlson’s humour is mostly self-deprecating, so she probably won’t be targeting and mocking Ball attendees this Saturday night. “Probably not … well, it depends what they wear on the night,” she laughs. As we chat about possible costumes, she says she is definitely going a little to the butch side. “But I’m also doing the hair, the make-up, so it’s a bit 50/50,” she says. “But I’m just there to talk, not to be looked at.” Her advice for anyone undecided about a costume is simple: “If you have good boobs, go low cut. I don’t see why we all should suffer. If you don’t have good boobs, cover it right up. Wear a polo top.” Carlson will be running the show at the Auckland Lesbian Ball this Saturday night at The Pullman. For more info and to buy tickets, click here Jacqui Stanford - 2nd July 2012