CityLife

Lucy Porter - from rubber truncheons to consummate performer

Lucy Porter and Friend

MOST of shows that tour a few months after completing an Edinburgh run in August change in content to some degree from the one that was originally presented at the Fringe.

There’s often a tweak here, a fiddle with there, new jokes to slot in, a little updating; but it’s rare that it’s necessary to chuck the whole lot out and start again.

That’s what happened to Lucy Porter whose show The Bear Necessities was all about the culture of greed, “at the time it was all about economics, in the loosest possible sense. So much of it is completely irrelevant (now).

''Things have moved on, nobody is saying greed is good any more, I think there’s been such a backlash against materialism that the whole premise of the show is completely redundant.”

Culture shifts

Is this a first? Such a radical zeitgeist change? Indeed CityLife have noticed that even some of the style mags are thinking twice before extolling the virtues of a £1000 handbag. 

“Occasionally you have to change something because a celebrity dies but I think in terms of attitude and culture shifts this is the biggest thing that’s happened since I’ve been doing comedy.

''I just think that people want different things from comedy now and it’s amazing how much actual resistance there is to even talking about the economy.”

People's needs

Still, at least it keeps a comedian on their toes. “In a way it’s been quite good,” agrees Porter, “it’s given me some ideas for this year’s Edinburgh so it’s a lot of new stuff and bit of old stuff and it keeps it interesting for me and hopefully for everyone else.

''The whole show is changing all the time depending on people’s needs, but it’s a fascinating time to be doing anything artistic and cultural.”
 

Plus there is the theory that people need a good chuckle at the moment, comedy in a crisis and all that.

“Yeah, people are saying that being a comic is one of the most secure jobs that you can have because people need to laugh when they’re miserable but I don’t know about that really, we shall see whether people keep going out to comedy clubs.”

Cathartic qualities

Not that having no club or theatre to play would stop Porter, having been on the comedy scene for 14 years she’s got far too used to the cathartic qualities of performing stand up.

“If the worst comes to the worst I’m just happy to stand on a street corner and shout my set out for free because I need the attention, I’m such an attention whore if I wasn’t getting paid I think I’d still do it anyway…” she laughs.

That’s a great quote – we’re definitely putting that one in.

“I’ve just realised how bad that’s going to look,” Porter adds smiling. “I’ve been called worse though,” she counters.

Working at Granada

Though it’s unlikely, even in these troubled times, that Porter would have to resort to yelling her set at passers by in the park for attention as she always draws a crowd on the circuit and is one of those rare acts that is pretty much guaranteed a sell out run at the Fringe.

She started out in stand up while living in our fair city and working at Granada.

Though her first gig was in fact at Alexanders in Chester, as having already hung out for some time on the comedy circuit she knew far too many comedians to give it a go in her adopted home town.

Her first time, she recalls shuddering, “will never leave me, they used to have – I don’t know whether they still do, an open spot night with the comedy police and if the audience didn’t like you they’d do a woo, woo siren thing and they beat you off the stage with rubber truncheons.

Major stage fright

''I can’t remember what I did but I know it was terrible. It was all about being short – I think I’d nicked a load of it off Ronnie Corbett to be quite honest.”
 

The first few gigs were tough on Porter who had to overcome major stage fright.

“I used to be so scared the first few times that I did it, shaking so much that I couldn’t even get the mic out of the stand so I had to stand there behind it holding my arms so I didn’t shake too much, dry mouth, heart racing.

Sheer torture

Really horrible. I don’t know how I persevered with it because for the first month it was sheer torture.”

But she did and it, of course, has paid off; these days she’s a consummate performer and writer, one that can even turn around a whole new show in the space of a few months…

Lucy Porter is at The Lowry on Sunday, May 10.