Hi Team,

Thankfully this month’s newsletter is a lot less emosh than the last one. It’s corny but true that time is a great healer. A comedian I really respect called Jeff Innocent told me to “turn your trauma into material, it’s how we process it”. I’ve been trying out new material about it at open mic nights and it’s gone from sounding like therapy to becoming the best stand-up I’ve written. My stand-up has previously felt surreal and silly and I’ve been happy in that place. Now I’ve started to talk about how I really feel it’s given the work a new depth and quality. It’s still silly and funny AF but it’s relatable. It’s annoying that the shittest of times can produce the greatest creative epiphanies but it’s also satisfying that something positive can come out of it.

You can see my stand-up in action when I open for Witch Hunt by A&E Comedy on 24^th and 25^th May in Brighton.

Pigeons and Funerals
I’ve been spending most of my time recently with people who work in the funeral industry and pigeon fanciers for my Brighton Festival Shows . Click on these links if you’ve ever wondered what a baby pigeon looks like or how a pigeon race begins.

One of my favourite parts of hanging out with enthusiasts is what their subject tells us about the wider context of what’s happening in the World. For example, BREXIT has made it too expensive for people to send their pigeons abroad. Changes in the environment means pigeons are losing their homing abilities.

I spent the day with Graeme last week who owns a hearse hire company. He told me that they are making hearses bigger because we are getting bigger. He also told me that he only hires out cars with drivers these days because the majority of us don’t know how to drive long vehicles. His hearses were being returned to the garage dinted and scratched after they’d been driven down cul-de-sacs crashing into gnomes and fence posts. The Brighton Festival shows are sold out but it’s my ambition that these pieces will tour. We are also working on a ‘The Enthusiasts’ podcast series.

Solo Female and Female Identifying Theatremakers Collective
I set up a solo female and female-identifying theatremakers collective with Sarah Louise Young. I was inspired by the OWL Network a group that was set up to support female comedians. It’s hard working by yourself so we wanted to create something like an open plan office where we can swivel are chairs around and ask a question. This Wednesday Bryony Kimmings is joining us for an online zoom discussion about autobiographical theatre. You have to be part of the collective to watch.

Culture I’ve been loving:

Films
Stutz – it’s causing a stir as it questions the therapist and patient relationship

Human the movie

Michael Jackson on Fire Diorama

The best books and podcast for heartbreak:
How to Heal a Broken Heart: From Rock Bottom to Reinvention by Rosie Green

Get Divorced, Be Happy: How becoming single turned out to be my happily ever after by Helen Thorn

Why Did You Stay?: A memoir about self-worth by Rebecca Humphries

Mating in Captivity by Esther Perel

Life’s Rosie

Thanks for reading

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Love Vic x