EDINBURGH 2022: Lucy Porter Q&A

BWW catches up with Lucy Porter to chat about bringing Wake-Up Call to the 2022 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Tell us a bit about Wake-Up Call.

Certainly! It's a jolly romp through my midlife crisis, post-lockdown trauma and various physical ailments. I promise it's more fun than it sounds. I also celebrate the genius of Dolly Parton, the kindness of modern PE teachers and my local council's bin collection schedule. There's a tiny bit of singing, I might solve a Rubik's cube or teach the audience a bit of conversational Spanish, and at one point I'll probably wear a hat.

What inspired you to write it?

The show was inspired by a number of revelations and epiphanies that have occurred to me over the last few years. I've worked out what makes me happy, when you should stop wearing leggings, where we should all retire to, why I'm so bad at driving, how to clean the filter on my washing machine and I've discovered the secret to Paul Hollywood's enduring popularity. I've also been helping various friends through their midlife crises - all my pals with proper jobs have been falling apart recently, but I've been slowly disintegrating mentally and physically since I was about 12, so I can share what I've learned. It's a crash course in midlife crisis management - I think of myself as the Midlife Midwife.

Who would you like to come and see Wake-Up Call?

I've described it as a show for middle aged women and anyone who loves them, so feel free to bring your mum, your auntie, or your favourite supermarket checkout person. I'm lucky enough to have quite a few stalwart festival goers who come and see me every year - some of them have been coming for so long I feel like I owe them a loyalty reward - like a set of steak knives or a ballpoint pen. I'm always keen to welcome new members to the fold though.

Having brought your first solo show to Edinburgh in 2001, do you feel you know what to expect from the festival?

Yep. Been there, done it, bought the T-shirt as they say. In fact, I was there before the T-shirt was even invented. When I started we all wore doublet and hose, powdered wigs and codpieces. It's been that long. I love it every time, because the late nights, laughter and fun stay the same, but there are always new shows to see and new people to meet. I actually first came to the fringe as an audience member in 1992, so cumulatively I have spent years of my life living in Edinburgh. I might ask for freedom of the castle and a free kilt in the Princess Diana tartan. I've already made friends with the people who run the Fudge Kitchen, and I go there every year begging for freebies - I'm no fool.

What's next for you after the Fringe?

I'm touring this show after the fringe, so the Edinburgh audience will, as always, be the gorgeous little chubby-cheeked guinea pigs for all my new material. Immediately after the festival I'm going to take the children on holiday in the Highlands, that should toughen them up a bit.

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