Laughter and discomfort at Jenny’s gig
I WAS recently one of a handful of men in a large, predominantly female audience at a stand-up comedy event at Middleton Arena as part of the fourth annual Rochdale Literature and Ideas Festival.
At 64 years old, I am very nearly a grown up, but that night I learned more about the female anatomy and its workings than any boy needs to know.
The star of the show bounded on stage in her ill-matched bra and pants that surely were not her Sunday undies.
Jenny Éclair talked about how to be a middle-aged woman without going insane, but her occasionally cackled laughter and manic hysteria suggested she may not yet be an expert in her field.
Indeed, she describes herself as ‘semi-bearded and suffering outbreaks of gout and hysteria’.
Before donning her ‘leggies’ and a t-shirt, she unashamedly pointed out stretch marks and other ‘unsightly’ body bumps and bulges, then discussed all mishaps menopausal, such as hot flushes and mood swings that see her shout at other people’s children in supermarkets.
In fact supermarkets and the cravings they create obviously play an important role for this particular middle-aged woman.
As she put ‘middle age under the microscope’, the women in her audience were torn between laughter and tears of sympathy and recognition, while we few of the opposite gender could only nod approvingly at tell-tale signs from home.
All of the above is to undersell Jenny’s gift for comic timing and visual farce. This was a fastmoving, energetic and laugh-out-loud performance that was as scintillating as it was (to us men) scary.
What set apart Éclair’s performance from similar stand-up shows was a perfect clarity of delivery.
Too often, the best closing phrases are lost in gales of laughter at the lead-in lines, but Jenny’s timing ensured we heard every word.
She dominated the stage, making only light use of visual aids, and her movements always perfectly complemented her vocal observations.
Rochdale Literature and Ideas Festival aimed to ‘expand your mind’.
This show expanded my male mind beyond borders it had never expected to cross, as Jenny demonstrated how and why she has become such a ubiquitous voice on radio and television.