In 1965, as Feminism‘s second wave lapped at the shores of a fading British Empire, eight-year-old Charmian Hughes (British Comedian of The Year finalist) saw the iconic Hammer Horror film She, about a mysterious and murderous queen who has endless beauty, power, and immortality but wastes them on some English bloke who could be the reincarnation of her long-lost lover. This filled young Charmian with horror. Is that what being any kind of successful woman looked like? We caught up with Charmian to find out more…
Funny Women: Tell us about your show!
Charmian Hughes: Where do I get my obsessive nature from? Why does running into my first-ever boyfriend send me into a tailspin? I lay the responsibility firmly at the feet of an adventure horror film I saw when I was eight. Ursula Andress plays a beautiful immortal queen of a lost kingdom wasting her eternal gift by languishing after some boyfriend she had stabbed in a jealous rage two thousand years before and throwing people into a volcano. Nevertheless, everyone fancied her. Obviously, the way to win the beloved‘s heart is to behave badly. And I’m not wrong!
FW: Why are you so influenced by the horror film She?
CH: A very old woman hangs onto her youth through magic and intimidation. Her looks mean more to her than her centuries of knowledge, Madonna take note. By the time I was 17, idolising my older glamorous dollybird sister, and desperate for a boyfriend, I was trying those deadly womanly wiles out myself. But what makes you a great girlfriend in 1000 years BC makes you a terrible girlfriend in 1973. Now, all these years later, I am happily married but running into that old boyfriend again unleashed some old obsessions, resentments, and jealousies.
FW: How does it feel to be returning to a ‘back to normal’ Edinburgh Fringe?
CH: Excited and anxious! The acts are here, will the audiences come? Some nice improvements in venues. My attic now has air conditioning!
FW: Have you got any tips for comedians going up to the festival for the first time?
CH: Be there to learn and enjoy, don’t worry about how well others are doing!
FW: Who are the funny women are you hoping to see in Edinburgh this year?
CH: My flatmates are a hoot but I’ve never seen them perform. American stand-up Maureen Langan and Anne Rabbit’s (Doon Mackichan’s old double act partner) theatre piece.
Charmian Hughes: Immortal Horror Queen’s Guide To Life is at Counting House Attic, 6.00pm 4th-28th August. Signed performance 23rd August. For tickets visit edfringe.com.
