The usual process is that a comedian does a hit show and gets a book deal out of it. Isy Suttie has done things the other way round. She has a hit book, The Actual One, and has now turned it into a hit show.
Of course she probably got the deal because she already had a track record as a successful performer (and, lest we forget, there is also that Dobby-from-Peep-Show fanbase). The live version of the book gives her a chance to flesh out her stories of reluctantly becoming an adult in her late twenties. The book is very good, but the stage version is even better.
The main difference here is that while you do get some of her lyrics in the book you don’t get Suttie’s deliciously eccentric songs on the page. This gentle, early evening gig was peppered with strangely infectious melodies, such as the ditty about Suttie’s Slovenian friend drawling “We all die alone”. This accompanies an anecdote about going to stay in Slovenia, losing her luggage and having to borrow clothes which made her look like a prostitute. Trust me, it’s much funnier when she tells it.
Elsewhere she talks about growing up writing songs about boys she was infatuated with and wondering if she was adopted. We also encounter a familiar figure from Suttie’s past gigs, Matlock jazz busker legend Mr Mississippi. I assume he genuinely exists although there is no mention of him online from any other Matlock residents.
The most vivid moments are when she recalls various flatmates, friends and the unlikely-yet-familiar things they got up to in their youth that we have all done variants of. She explains how she once went to meet a boyfriend wearing nothing but a manky overcoat and trainers and planned to have sex with him in a graveyard. Things, of course, worked out differently.
I love a bit of whimsy but in the past I’ve found Suttie to be almost too whimsical. But the book – or maybe hitting her thirties and becoming a mum – seems to have given her more focus. Her stories and songs now feel more relatable. Suttie is still slightly nutty, but in a good way. Maybe she should write a musical next.
For tour dates click here.
