© Rebecca Need-Menear
Cally Beaton’s new show Super Cally Fragile Lipstick is an introspective look at her own current life situation, embracing the notion of fragility and showing how being fragile doesn’t detract from being great. Cally will be performing at Just the Tonic at the Caves throughout August.
1) What excites you most about the Edinburgh Festival?
Getting away from kids/cats/neighbours/London/grown-up responsibilities for a whole month. And seeing how many days (hours) I can go before starting to consider prescription medication.
2) What was your first Edinburgh show about?
Cat Call last year, written/performed with fellow comic Catherine Bohart, was about womanhood either side of the age of 40. I was 47, Catherine was 27. And I’m really happy for her. It’s great to be young, talented, beautiful and going places. Yup… really, really happy for her.
3) Does your comedy attract a certain type of audience?
It’s pretty broad. I do often get women, and men, in a similar life phase who say it resonates with them but I’ve had lovely (and on occasion not so lovely) feedback from pretty much all ages. Well, to be clear, I’d say it’s more suitable if you’re 16+. Someone brought their 11 year old son along, despite my warnings about some of the content, and I could see the years of therapy lining up ahead of him… At least he knows where the clitoris is now. Never too early for a guy to be told about that.
4) What is the worst experience you’ve had with Edinburgh accommodation?
A friend came to stay with me for a couple of nights – to sleep on the sofa in a very small one bed flat. He had just omitted to mention he’d be bringing his wife, 2 year old and baby along too…
5) What is your most treasured memory of your comedy career so far?
A conversation I had with an autistic teenage fan, the same age as my autistic son, who after coming to the show every day for a week and finally came up to tell me that, after years of feeling like a loser at school, the show had made him feel like a rock star. That was some good sh*t, right there. He told me he hated it if I changed anything though – it needed to be the exact same show every day. That, and doing QI!
6) What show will you definitely be seeing at the festival this year?
James Acaster’s trilogy. The grand master of the Edinburgh show format.
7) What do you hope to gain from the Edinburgh Festival this year?
I have a story that I want to tell – and I want to tell it this year while it means something to me. After only a couple of years doing stand-up it’s courageous (some might say idiotic) to be doing my debut hour but hey – getting my story out, crafted as best as I know how, with a few people coming to see it and liking what they see, will send me back home with a mission accomplished. That, and drawing attention to the plight of the ginger menopausal trying to break into comedy, arguably a little belatedly in life. Or maybe everyone else just gets into it early.
8) What do you imagine your last ever show will be about?
Womanhood either side of the age of 90. Obvs.
BOOK TICKETS FOR SUPER CALLY FRAGILE LIPSTICK AT THE EDINBURGH FESTIVAL