JENNY ECLAIR | INTERVIEW
Stand-up comedienne and Grumpy Old Woman (that’s not a snide comment but her job title) Jenny Eclair tells us about her safe word and pulling her pants down.
How is it going?
I’m very ill! I’m bearing up but I’ve got post panto flu. I’ve been understudy for Jo Brand and panto is just toxic – full of poorly children. I finished on Saturday and I’ve been fighting this off and I’ve just let it out now and I’m covered in sneeze.
How did you first get into comedy?
I went to drama school with the intention of being an actress. From a very young age I wanted to act, I genuinely thought I would be a film star. I never thought of stand-up because there were no women I saw doing it. I was brought up abroad and we didn’t have television, but I remember going to a friend’s house where I saw a Lucille Ball programme and I was absolutely fascinated by her. There was Fanny Cradock, I thought she was hilarious. Weirdly when I think back of early television they were funny, but a bit mad.
I came to the UK, then I went through my teens and through the 1970s there were no funny women doing solo stand-up stuff or having their own TV shows that weren’t very traditional. You’d sometimes catch old actresses and think “you’re really hilarious” but none of it was being harnessed in a way that I would want to do it.
Do you think that being a woman has made a career in comedy more difficult?
No not really. I was very lucky; I came in when Victoria Wood and French & Saunders broke down some barriers. The door was ajar for the rest of us to try and push our way through, and there was an explosion of a new wave of comedy. It didn’t seem to matter if you were a man, gay, yellow, whatever. It was the early 80s. It was healthy for entertainment; it was very much new wave away from very traditional second-hand joke telling.
Have things improved since then?
Very much so – though I think in some respects its harder now as so many young people are doing stand-up. Its something a lot of brave, articulate ex students can see themselves doing.
The flip side of it being easier is that a lot of people think they can do it, and then they are going to be disappointed by the fact there’s only so much room for people at the top. There was so few of us back in the 80s you could be shit, standards today are so high everyone expects fully fledged comics.
Are you looking forward to coming to Pontardawe?
Yes, I’ve been to Pontardawe before and I remember having a very good breakfast in quite a surprising place. It was a hotel that’s quite dull and I didn’t have high hopes but it blew me out of the water with a very big breakfast, it was a knockout. I’ll be going back for seconds.
So you’ve been there before?
I think so, it’s difficult as I’ve been around so long and there very few places I haven’t played. I’ll be in the dressing room and then I’ll get déjà vu.
Sometimes when I do the old arts centres, you go in and see old posters and think ‘Oh I was here then’.
What should people expect from your show Eclairious?
I show off in the first half, then people get a break from me then I show off in the second half. It’s quite difficult, there are a couple of theatrical scenes and there’s a big ‘going to the doctor’s’ routine. We have a safe word if people think I’ve gone too far and I promise to stop.
Do they ever shout out the safe word?
I pretend to be deaf if they do.
You’ve previously been labelled Britain’s most outrageous woman?
It’s the albatross around your neck. It is a double edged sword as it’s both a compliment and a complete slag-off. What you want is ‘hilarious’ and ‘intelligent’ but it sounds like you’re a bit of a maniac with your pants down, swearing.
So you wouldn’t yourself consider outrageous?
No but I do stand there with my pants down.
Jenny Eclair: Eclairious, Pontardawe Arts Centre, Fri 28 Feb. Tickets: £17.50. Info: 01792 863722 / www.nptartsandents.co.uk
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