How luck and laughter have kept comedian, novelist and actress Jenny Eclair at the top of her game as she soars into her seventh decade.
You’ll often hear pop stars, entertainers and comedians complaining about life on the road – the travelling, the hotels, the constant and aching repetition of each live show… but not Jenny Eclair.
The husky-voiced fashion-fervent 62-year-old doesn’t buy into all that. To her, touring is a chance to meet new people and see new sights – in many respects, it’s a holiday… even if she can’t pinpoint on a map where her destinations are…
“The more I tour, the more grateful I am to be doing this,” she begins. “I do realise how lucky I am, to have people still turning up. That’s pretty special for me, because there’s a lot of competition out there and it’s quite tough.
“It’s easy to moan about this and that, but you come to realise this is actually a dream job. I get to show off for 90 minutes on a nightly basis. That’s not bad!
“And I love the travelling,” she continues. “There are the places you know, and they are ones that you look forward to. Then there are the surprises: Aberdeen, so friendly; Fowey, in Cornwall, beautiful; and Telford… fantastic! On any normal day you’d think ‘Where the hell is Telford?! Well, I know now!
“The mentality is, ‘I might never be able to come to this place again, so why not do that river trip, why not have that cheesecake?!’ It’s just taking advantage of where you are more than just laying in a hotel room worrying about the gig.”
That Jenny views touring as a holiday means audiences get the very best out of a comedian who is, ironically, most notably recognised for her sour-spoken rantings on Grumpy Old Women, Loose Women and more. A stint on I’m A Celebrity portrayed her in a different light, and with acting and presenting roles also thrown into the mix, there’s no doubt that there’s versatility in her toolkit, even if her jokes remain intentionally woman led.
“I’m always surprised when men come along,” she continues. “Most of them are designated drivers and they have to sit there stone-cold sober and listen! At times you can actually see the tension on some of the blokes’ faces at the beginning of the show, but within 10 minutes they begin to relax. The sound of the audience is like listening to a choir – lots of lady-laughter with the occasional hearty male bassline coming through. And hearing men chuckle is really, really wonderful. It’s really all part of the job to convince the blokes that they’re having a nice time, and I’m always really relieved when they are!”
Her 2022 tour, entitled Sixty! (Ffs!) should have happened two years ago, but Covid saw to its delay. The sentiments are, however, all the same, even now she has ascended to the ripe old age of, well, 62.
“Stand-up is an interesting concept in itself. You’re never totally in control – making people laugh can be tough, after all, but when it goes well it’s like getting into a big bath every night – it’s comforting and it’s comfortable.
“Ultimately, I love feelgood comedy – for me, it’s about performing to women of a certain age… an audience who are experiencing a lot of similar things; but good comedy should be about anything that makes us smile. I think we all need a dose of that right now!”
