Went to see Jenny Eclair on tour at the Theatre Severn in Shrewsbury on Sunday evening. Heather came with me, and we had a lovely posh Italian dinner before heading to the theatre. I’ve recently read, ‘Still Life’ by Sarah Winman (cracking story) which is set mostly in Italy, and by the time I’d finished it, I had the urge to download the DuoLingo app and learn Italian. I rather fancy to flounce around, ranting in Italian. I think it’s a language that lends itself well to a good rant. Learning a language in late middle age is supposed to be good for keeping the old brain cells lubricated and firing, too. Really, it all depends on whether I can be arsed.
Now, I listen to Jenny Eclair’s podcast ‘Older and Wider’ which she shares with producer/editor/writer Judith Holder. I think Judith is only there to provide a raucous cackling backing track for Jenny’s maniacal running banter, because Jenny is very much centre of the podcast content. And if the content strays towards Judith, Jenny makes a huge and not very subtle effort to get the spotlight back on her. Just my observation as a listening M.O.P (member of the public). It’s an enjoyable listen, nonetheless, although for obvious Tory-loathing folk, they do bang on about Waitrose, John Lewis and Marks and Spencer an awful lot.
Jenny Eclair swears copiously during her podcast. I’ve never really been much of a swearer, and when I do catch myself letting one slip, as it were, I always tell myself off for sounding like a common fishwife. But swearing is very much part of Jenny’s modus conversationai (I made up that word) and I just try to filter it away from my delicate lady ears. In her stand-up show, she swears even more.
She is VERY funny, of course. The theatre was one cackling giggle-fest from start to finish. Jenny doesn’t care what she says, how she says it, and if she ever had a verbal decency filter, it broke a long, long time ago. There are a lot of bodily functions observations, and if I’d seen a written script of the show beforehand I’d probably have thought, ‘I’m not going to see THAT filth!’ But the written word doesn’t convey the wit, or performance skill, of the woman, so if you fancy an evening of bawdy, filthy truth-telling about what it’s like to be a woman in her sixties, then go, enjoy and laugh.
(She did tell a ranty joke about Ann Widdecombe which I thought was below the belt and unnecessary. I didn’t laugh at that because I happen to like Ann Widdecombe, whom I’ve also seen on tour and who was witty, intelligent, charming, utterly hilarious and did not make any below-the-belt jokes about anyone. But, like I said, Eclair clearly hates Tory folk and she is entitled to her opinion. As are we all.)
To even up the cultural balance, my next trip to the theatre will be to see a ballet. My local arts centre is good at showing various National Theatre Live productions and there’s a run of ballet performances coming up over the next few months. No danger of excessive swearing with a ballet. Just a load of blokes in very tight tights flashing their nethers around.
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