Comedian Celia Pacquola always saw herself as a serial dater with a ridiculous job, and never expected she would settle down in the suburbs with a partner and a kid.
So, her first stand-up show in five years is titled I'm As Surprised As You Are.
"People who have seen my shows in the past and known me as a person will be truly shocked," she told AAP.
The show is a headline act at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, where Pacquola did her first gig 18 years ago - losing an open-mic contest to Hannah Gadsby.
The 41-year-old admits that after having a baby in 2022 she wasn't sure if she would ever return to the stand-up spotlight.
"I didn't know what my life would be like, I didn't know if I would want to do something else, I had no idea," she said.
Even before her daughter arrived, Pacquola had other projects on the go, with the long-running Utopia television series, writing and starring in Rosehaven with bestie Luke McGregor, and hosting Thank God You're Here, among her many small screen roles.
There was also the 2021 SBS documentary The Truth About Anxiety - and looking after a newborn, Pacquola found the mental health issues she has talked about openly for years, suddenly ramped up.
She found herself constantly worrying and overthinking how to look after her baby and panicking that she would somehow inadvertently expose her to danger.
"It's not surprising because I had anxiety when I wasn't responsible for actual life," she said.
Her daughter is one and a half now, and Pacquola says everyone is getting more sleep and she is glad to return her regular levels of anxiety.
More recently, she has ventured back to club comedy nights and found that she still enjoyed the high wire act of stand-up comedy.
While there are many new faces on the scene, and she admits to feeling "very, very old" at times, with a new partner, moving house, a baby (and... making a quiche?) there's no lack of things to talk about, she said.
Pacquola has even been asked whether she had a child for a fresh source of comedic material - to which her answer was a firm no.
"I'm under no illusions that having a baby has made my career more difficult but if I get a couple of jokes out it along the way, then I'm going to use it," she said.
"I have to give my kid something to talk about in therapy when she's older."
I'm As Surprised As You Are has been in previews since Thursday, and with a run of ten shows and no chance of a tour, Pacquola is already sad it will be finished so quickly.
"That's one of the great things about live stand-up, it's about being in the room - but then it's over," she said.
I'm As Surprised As You Are plays at the Comedy Theatre in Melbourne until April 7.
