Comedy heroine Helen Lederer is a comic actress, writer and compelling public speaker. Helen has appeared in a veritable smorgasbord of British sitcoms including The Young Ones, French and Saunders, One Foot in the Grave, Bottom and she is perhaps best known for playing Catriona in Absolutely Fabulous.
Helen was one of only three female performers on the circuit when The Comic Strip crowd first met at London’s Comedy Store in the 1980s. Let’s pause to think about that. Not so very long ago, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, now in its 71st year, had a zero female comedy acts. How far we have come! Yet there’s still such a long way to go to achieve equality. Helen’s achievements, which compile a list longer than her arm, are a testament to her power to adapt. Over the past four decades Helen’s done stand up, sketch comedy, acting, written the novel Losing It, made a ‘Splash’ on reality TV and, now, she’s returned to Edinburgh with her solo show I Might As Well Say It after a fourteen-year hiatus. Helen’s also about to launch a literary award to celebrate and support female comedy writers: Comedy women in print prize.
At 63, Helen wants to get everything off her chest before she forgets the anecdotes. Her own inimitable worldly wisdom sees Helen’s monologue run at the pace her sharp-witted brain moves – fast! Far from senile, Helen rattles through a cleverly scripted narrative detailing her love life (she married, got pregnant and divorced within a year), career ups and downs, weight losses and gains and so much more. It was no wonder she occasionally consulted her notes or asked the crowd for reminders on where she’d got to. It appears she’s heckling herself as she berates her brain and it’s this endearing persona that wins over her sell-out audience at the Underbelly.
Helen reveals that she was once told by a man that she’s ‘high maintenance’, which she believes translates to ‘woman with an opinion.’ And she’s certainly not holding back. Watching Helen’s mind whir is a marvel as she references comedy chums such as Ben Elton, June Whitfield, and the late great Rik Mayall. Make no mistake, though, this show is all about Helen. It’s no place to garner gossip about her peers. Far from it, the laughs are at her own expense. Covering a career spanning nearly forty years in an hour seems an impossible task but, somehow, Helen manages it. Catch her while you can. That is, if you can keep up!
★★★★
Helen Lederer: I Might As Well Say It is at at 17:05 at Jersey, Underbelly Bristo Square until 26th August. For tickets and information click here!
You can also see Helen Lederer: Asks Why The Fuss? where Helen will be in conversation with special guests (TBC) at The Pear Tree, West Nicolson St, Edinburgh, at 14:45 between August 21st-25th
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