Francesca Martinez makes her Adelaide Fringe Festival debut and to most she will be recognisable from the hit show Extras. Francesca had a spare few moments to talk about her Fringe Festival show.

Is there pressure to exceed expectations especially after being a star in a show such as Extras? “It actually had the opposite effect on me! When Ricky Gervais rang me up and offered me the part, I was so chuffed, I thought, ‘Ricky thinks I’m funny – even if I never make anyone laugh again, I can die happy!’”

What are Adelaide punters up for with your show at the Festival Fringe? “As a performer, I’m very aware that there are so many other things a person could be doing, so it’s a real privilege to have an hour of their time. I just hope they’ll come out a bit happier than when they came in!”

Tackling taboos – how far do you go before you draw the line? “If you’ve got something interesting to say, I don’t think there is a line! That’s the difficult bit, to find new and different ways to approach things. I’m a big believer in free speech, even if it means I, myself, get offended sometimes – because I think it’s all or nothing! Personally, I’m not interested in offending people but I am drawn to find ways to explore topics that don’t get talked about much.”

Is it hard to be funny all the time? “I’m not funny all the time!”

Do you have any strange or ritualistic type things you have to do before going on stage? “Not really. I gave up being nervous years ago – I’m too lazy. But I do have to get into my head space which is ‘I’m just an insignificant dot in this universe so it doesn’t really matter how well/badly my show goes because I’ll just exist for a blink of an eye’. It really takes the pressure off!!”

Why do comedians always waste five minutes picking on the bogan (weird looking person) in the front row? “It’s easy, I guess! Although, I don’t. In fact, I talk about how much I hate chit-chat and demonstrate my own form of audience interaction with this in mind.”

What do you think about comedians who continually rehash the same routine each time? What does a comedian do in between shows? “Comedians can get a tough time for re-using their material. But if you’ve ever written comedy, you’ll know how hard it is to write a good joke, so you want to get good mileage out of it! Ultimately, I think all that matters is if it’s new to the audience and if the comedian still likes saying it. When I get sick of a joke, I ditch it because I think you can get jaded otherwise – and the audience can sense that a mile away! I can’t speak for all comedians (we’re not a species… well, maybe we are) but in between shows, I like to live life so I’ll have something new to put into a next show! And sleeping’s good too.”

What is your best line in response to a heckler? “It wasn’t a line. I just cut his hair.”

Francesca Martinez plays The Tuxedo Cat – Attic from Thursday 18 February through to Sunday 7 March. Tickets from www.adelaidefringe.com.au