The next night rolled around and after a quick sprint through the city centre (I'd misjudged the bus times, rookie mistake) I picked up my ticket and my copy of the book, settled in my seat and scanned the crowd. All I could see was lesbians, so the night was already off to a pretty good start.
Sue came on stage, trademark blazer on, to a huge round of applause - of course. We were already laughing at her intro (hilarious pictures of Mel) and the jokes/banter/hilarity just kept on coming. We were treated to photos of baby Sue (adorable) and childhood Sue (frankly quite terrifying at some points) as well as family photos and plenty of anecdotes. No matter how boring something may have seemed, she has a way of injecting life and love into everything to spice it up.
The show itself was made up of excerpts from Spectacles, Sue's book, which she read aloud in a typical reading voice; I absolutely cannot wait to get my teeth into the book because the bits I've heard so far are hysterical, and Sue's narrative is witty, heartwarming and fun. So she read bits of the book, and then expanded on them with stories and jokes - all, of course, punctuated with brilliant facial expressions!
And of course, Bake Off. We heard stories from behind the scenes, like that time Sue and Mel stole Paul Hollywood's car, and the love Sue has for the bakers and the show and the crew is just so so so evident. During the Q&A section, we were all polite and nobody asked anything about GBBO because people from Liverpool are nice, but one girl did say how pleased she was that Sue (and Mel) haven't "gone with the dough" to which Sue said she couldn't say much, but thank you and that it was a hard decision to be leaving the family. And then I cried a bit.
Sue finished the show off with a guitar, which was vaguely alarming, and she sang the beginning of Bad Moon Rising - but it's a bit sombre for a stand up comedy show, so mid way through she changed the lyrics to something a bit more jolly and ended with "and all that's left to do is... BAKE" (or words to that effect, I can't quite remember because I was so stunned and in love).
Post-show, I headed to the book signing queue and after around half an hour, met the woman herself. She looked tired and emotionally drained, but that didn't stop her being bloody lovely to everyone, and my friend wanted me to ask how tall she was (5"7) and she called me doll.
I had the most lovely wonderful night, full of belly laughs, and I'd highly recommend a Sue Perkins show to anyone if you get the chance!
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ReplyDeleteHullo! Have linked to your post on http://effyeahmelandsue.tumblr.com xx
ReplyDelete(this time with the URL spelled correctly!)
I'm glad you had a great evening!! And it's nice to hear someone else going to things on their own? I want to, and do sometimes, but feel I need to do it more often.
ReplyDeleteI have the hugest crush on Sue. Went to have a look and see if she is anywhere near me, but I've missed her coming to Brighton (nearest place to me) by a few days. NOOOOOO.
Meg | Elmpetra
Big up you wanting to do something so out you popped and did it! I don't think it's scary but at the same time I'd never end up doing it (from pure laziness I expect). Sounds a delightful night! xxx
ReplyDeleteJesska - Opal Soul