Funny Women 2021 awards finalist, Natalie Bellingham, takes a look at the joyful and ridiculous aspects of growing older and moving on from loss in her semi-autobiographical Edinburgh Fringe Festival debut.
Tell us about your show?
The show is about life and connection, getting older and deciding how you might tackle your next chapter. It’s about figuring out who you want to be after a big change, particularly after experiencing a change you didn’t ask for. It’s funny and its not ‘not’ funny, with a mix of visual, physical and poetic elements.
There’s something so enticingly funny, terrifying and liberating about suddenly realising that your life is yours and you are in charge of it. The show also (playfully) explores how I confronted the massive, complicated and unfillable space left behind when my mum died.
I co-created the show with international art clown, Jamie Wood, which has been an absolute pleasure!
How have audiences received it so far?
Audiences have been really enthusiastic about the show. It’s been quite the journey to get to this point. It’s my first solo show and first Edinburgh Fringe Festival, so to see audiences really enjoying it, laughing crying and saying beautiful things about it has really made it all feel worth it.
One audience member said, “Like life, this show is funny and thoughtful and occasionally brutal. If you’re going to Edinburgh, it is well worth an hour of your time. I wish I’d made it.”
How does it feel to be performing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival for the first time?
It is a delightfully edgy balance between terrifying and invigorating. It’s a massive deal, it’s something I’ve always wanted to do but the opportunity never came about and it was never financially viable. It’s still not really- but out the back of the pandemic, losing my mum and turning 40. Time waits for no one so I thought, in the words of Lisa Stansfield “This is the right time”.
I’m excited to share this show in a place with such a massively diverse audience and where so many performance forms are celebrated, because my show seems to speak to lots of different people at different times of their lives. From my experience, people seem to always have something they want to let go of and have a huge host of things they carry that they find difficult. The show is like a big group invitation for us all to connect in our ridiculous humanity, share some of what we carry around with us and celebrate our curiosity in growing, changing and moving.
Have you got any tips for comedians going up to the festival for the first time?
It’s a bit premature for me to be giving out tips- but I’ll indulge! The five things I’ve learnt already are:
- Flyer quality not quantity.
- Wear a comfortable shoes.
- Drink all the water- if you see some drink it, guzzle the stuff.
- Don’t punish yourself by going to watch all the other amazing people before you’re settled into your show, there’s no rush.
- Be kind to yourself. Comedy can be quite vulnerable at times. You’ll never please everyone- if someone’s not keen on your show, it’s not personal. They’re just not keen on your show, it doesn’t mean they want you specifically to burn in the fiery pits of hell. This differentiation does matter (easier said than done though!).
Which funny women do you recommend seeing in Edinburgh this year?
There’s a lot of people that I’d recommend seeing, but here’s just a few that I’d recommend; Amy Gledhill, Freddie Hayes, Lara Ricote, Abby Wambaugh, Loran Rose Treen. If that wasn’t enough, then I’d go see Sh!t Theatre’s, What’s Left of Us, and An Evening Without Kate Bush.
Natalie Bellingham: Look After Your Knees, 2-11, 13-19 and 21-26 August at 2pm, at Pleasance Courtyard (Baby Grand). Book tickets here.
