Abbie Chatfield
The formidable force that is Abbie Chatfield graces Darwin with her presence, as she brings her Trauma Dump Tour to Darwin Entertainment Centre.
By Tierney White
“I’M SUPER EXCITED to be back in Darwin, I just love the Northern Territory so much and I always have such an amazing time in the Top End ... I’ll always take any opportunity I can to come back,” she says.
Regaling tales of her life experience – with stories on relationships, living with post-traumatic stress disorder, and her ADHD diagnosis – Chatfield’s two-hour show is unfiltered, raw, and incredibly relatable.
“I think, when we share our traumas, it acts as a cautionary tale for others and that’s certainly a big part of what the show is about. I try to make light of my trauma but also include some parts which show where I went wrong or tell people what not to do so that they can learn from my mistakes,” she says.
“When we share our traumas, it makes people feel less alone and less like their trauma is their own fault. If people are going through similar experiences, or they can relate to my stories in the show, I hope that they are able to see that things can, and do, get better.”
Chatfield was catapulted into the spotlight when she was marked as the villain on TV series The Bachelor, and the unfortunate recipient of a tirade of abuse from strangers. In the years since, she’s flipped that narrative on its head, becoming a much-loved and admired media personality, podcaster, and champion of feminism.
In the Trauma Dump Tour, she shares some of the smaller “silly” traumas she’s experienced before going in depth with three main stories.
“One of them is quite heavy and there is a trigger warning for it. Whilst the other two are just about absolute complete weirdos that I used to date and the stories are just comical and ridiculous.”
Chatfield says she hopes audiences get something from her lived experience, and a reality check on just how common our experiences can be, no matter who you are.
“The show really is the best of times and the worst of times of my life. I think there’s this preconceived notion of me that I’m a strong woman who doesn’t take any sh-t, and I think you’ll find, from this show, that I have taken a lot of sh-t, and you'll see that trauma affects us in lots of different ways,” she says.
“So, whilst I’d say it is a comedy show as a whole, there are more intense parts that are a bit harder to handle.”
Abbie Chatfield - The Trauma Dump Tour
WHEN SAT 23 NOV | 8PM
AT DARWIN ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE
COST $79.90 | $109.90 HOT SEAT
INFO yourcentre.com.au
Header, thumbnail & inset: XingerXanger
