Over the past week, she's entertained Aussie audiences - who have been nothing short of "an absolute riot" - in Perth, Adelaide and Melbourne. This Sunday, it's the bush capital's turn.

Joining Catherine on stage is long-term collaborator Niky Wardley. While the show is scripted, audiences can expect a bit of cheeky improv.

"It does change every night because I never know what's going to happen. With live shows, especially comedy shows, invariably things to go wrong and you have to improvise around that. And it adds to the live event really.

"Shows are different every night. The energy's different, people are different and things come up that you have to deal with. But I think that's the joy of live performing.

"It's all a laugh. I mean, it's no King Lear! It would be slightly different if things went wrong in King Lear, but I can accommodate a slip up in my show."

Laughs aside, it's also an exercise in razor-sharp makeup and costume changes.

For you ladies and gents who reel at the thought of getting ready in a rush, imagine doing this with wigs and prosthetics. And oh yeah, with 14 different character outfits.

Tate will be performing as some of the most-loved characters from the BAFTA-nominated show: the take-no-prisoners Joannie 'Nan' Taylor, the hapless nurse Bernie and the olive-oil fiend that is the Aga Saga woman.

"You have to be really fast and work with brilliant quick change artists back stage. It's a lot of practice. At the start, you think 'Oh, I can't possibly get ready so quickly.'

"And then eventually you get it down to a matter of seconds, some of the changes take 30 seconds. It's like a military operation backstage."

Despite the number and variety of characters, Tate holds no favourites. She mentions she enjoys playing all of them, especially because she hasn't been able to do it in a while.

"Each character has a completely different feel, and for the live sketches we've got entirely new material."

Another character the audience is bound to warmly embrace is Lauren Cooper, or the "Am I bovvered?" girl. Considering there's quite a chav element to Cooper, would Tate consider developing a character based on Australia's own chav, the humble bogan?

"I'd be up for the challenge," Tate said.

After performances in Queensland, Newcastle and Sydney she's taking her show across the ditch New Zealand and then to London's West End.

The Catherine Tate Show - Live. The Canberra Theatre Centre. Sunday, November 18, 2018, 8pm. Tickets $102-122. Bookings: canberratheatrecentre.com.au.