ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT
Sue Perkins
LIVE ! In Spectacles
Mel and Sue , The Mekong River , and of course , The Great British Bake Off - Sue Perkins has become a bit of a national treasure . She never gets boring and always has something interesting to say , plus she ’ s pretty funny too . Her new 14- date tour , LIVE ! In Spectacles , kicks off in September playing Canterbury ’ s Marlowe Theatre on the 8th , and the Brighton Dome on the 10th . Here ’ s what Sue had to say about it all ...
interview by Polly Humphris
What prompted you to hit the road with your new tour , LIVE ! in Spectacles ? It ’ s a good time to look back on my life so far . I fully intend to live to the age of 92 , so this is half time . Essentially , this tour is handing out the orange segments .
Tell us more ... Writing a memoir begins a process that doesn ’ t necessarily end with publication . You begin to think about family life and stories and relationships , and those are ongoing . Once the book was published , I thought : “ There is so much more still to say without necessarily writing another book . Why not animate the book with a live tour ?” It ’ s like a companion volume , I guess . A big , technicolour puke of thoughts . Perhaps I should put that on the poster .
You have always relished live performance , haven ’ t you ? Yes , I love live . I really enjoy playing with an audience . At book events , I do question and answer sessions , and it ’ s often then that the madness starts . It often feels like an anarchic version of Question Time .
What do you particularly like about interacting with the audience ? It enriches me . Performing live challenges you to be more engaged . And the great thing is , each venue is completely different . What I have done lately has been TV based , so I haven ’ t had the same feedback as I get live , and that ’ s what I love . I adore the raw surprise someone of asking a question you would never have expected . I love the spontaneity of it . I don ’ t encourage hecklers , but sometimes a heckler is the funniest person in the room - why not embrace that ? The audience is a big pool of fun you can swim around in , but remember : no petting .
You will be giving each ticket holder a copy of your book , Spectacles . What ’ s the thinking behind that ? It gives me the opportunity to meet the whole audience one by one afterwards during the signings . A gig is a two-way street . It ’ s not about me broadcasting . It ’ s not “ this is what I ’ ve got to say about this .” It ’ s as much about how people respond to the material . My memoir is a story of family and childhood , and everyone has had one of those . Mine is not the definitive version of childhood , but it ’ s a great way to start a conversation . I love it when someone says : “ It ’ s weird . I lived next to an electricity substation for 20 years as well .” Or , “ We had a cat that dragged our turkey across the room at Christmas and we had to eat boiled eggs for our lunch instead .” The book is a recorded history of my life so far , but the tour brings extra stuff to it . The audience adds so much on top of that ; it ’ s important to have that double act thing going on with them .
So what subjects will you be covering in the show ? Births , deaths , lemon drizzle , and getting fondled by a Cambodian hermit . I ’ ll talk a lot about the catastrophising that went on in my family . There was always a sense that something awful , that imminent doom , was around the corner . It came from my mum – she ’ s a worrier ; everything was a potential trip to A & E !
You have a wonderful relationship with your fans . Do they frequently stop you in the street ? Sometimes , yes . Often they ’ ll want to ask about the weird things I ’ ve eaten . I ’ ve eaten everything . There ’ s nothing I haven ’ t eaten . I ’ ve eaten peacock , rat , squirrel , wigeon , teal , snipe , snake , moose and yak . Bear Grylls , eat your heart out ! In fact , he probably has eaten his heart out …
Finally , do you believe that a sense of humour is vital ? Of course . Life is boring without the punctuation of punchlines . If you laugh at a joke , it ’ s because someone has put something you already know in a way you had never thought of before . You ’ ve always been aware of that idea , but it ’ s the expression of that idea that catches you . The other person encapsulates it , or puts a new twist on it . It illuminates and cheers in one fell swoop . Without humour , what ’ s the point ? Life would simply be one long argument with a man from the BT helpdesk .
Tickets for Sue Perkins ’ tour , LIVE ! in Spectacles , can be found at www . sueperkinslive . com
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