Clare Summerskill is a lesbian - unapologetically so. In fact,
if there was a sentence in her show without the word lesbian in it,
I didn't hear it. This is a retro approach; being a lesbian who
does stand up as opposed to a stand up who happens to have sex with
women in her spare time is old school, but it works a treat as news
of her appearance seemed to reach the lesbians that other gay gigs
cannot reach. They came out of the woodwork to see her in
Huddersfield, which is no mean achievement in these parts. Getting
non-scene lesbians out on a day with a 'Y' in it? Kudos is owed,
big time.
Not that she delivered a strictly stand-up performance. Clare's
background is theatre-based and the shows ebb and flow reflects
this. Routines, sketches and songs all hang neatly off the shows
overall theme, 'A History of Sexuality'. It's a clever hook that
allows all manner of amusing digressions as well as some well dodgy
costume changes. Clare's character skits are a tad 20th century but
then so is she, and so were the majority of the audience including
myself, so we enjoyed the jokes easily enough. Ange the leather
clad bull dyke was a favourite, and there was a trip down memory
lane with Zoo the Lesbian Activist, a reminder of the bad old days
when you couldn't get a leg over unless you were a card-carrying
member of the 'I'm a Bit Cross' brigade.
Clare's song writing skills are beyond doubt and she positions
music to great affect in both halves of the show. She even shows
off with the accordion, an instrument that all lesbians should
surely master as proof of outstanding fingering skills. Add a
little poignancy with the Golfing Girlfriend and a cracking encore
song that could go all night and you could very well forgive Clare
for the odd cheesy gag, if not the spangly jacket.
Clare played The Lawrence Batley Theatre in Huddersfield on
7th May 2011.
More Clare-type info can be obtained at claresummerskill.co.uk
