You're Kidding
I was in a room full of young mothers, midwives and nursery teachers tonight as we transformed the 大象传媒 canteen in Glasgow into a cabaret club. We were recording a new series about the joys of parenthood presented by comedian Susanne Fraser. It mixes real-life stories of parenthood with extracts from Susanne's stand-up routine. Tonight's audience was drawn from the women who had already contributed to the programme by sharing their own experiences.
For many, this was a rare night away from the nappies and sterlisers so we decided to make it a bit of a treat by adding a few surprises into the mix.
I don't think anyone could quite believe their eyes when John Beattie and James MacPherson took to the stage and gave it rock 'n' roll belters by performing crowd-pleasers such as Brown Eyed Girl and Teenage Kicks. James, John and their supporting musicians had styled themselves as MLC - or Mid-Life Crisis.
Compere Kevin Devine did a fantastic job throughout the evening and Irish comedian Frances Healy also kept the laughs coming with her own stories of being the youngest of a family of thirteen.
Afterwards I spoke to Fran about her own transition from mainsteam acting to stand-up comedy. She said she had been persuaded to try it by friends and somehow the bookings kept on coming. She said the biggest danger comes in the hours after you come off stage and the adrenalin is still pumping. Many comedians try to drown that energy by heading to the bar and getting drunk, but, said Fran, that's when you really see the "tears of a clown".
