Notorious on the circuit for her razor- sharp wit and slick delivery of gags, Lola Lasagne has been making audiences laugh up and down the country for twenty-five years. So if there’s anyone who knows about comedy in cabaret it’s bound to be her.
This week, Jason Reid managed to catch up with the Brighton Belle in-between gigs to chat about the life of the comedian, how it’s changed over the years, and the personal experiences and influences that have shaped her as a comic performer…
In your opinion, what does it take to be a good comedian?
You have to know the difference between a funny line and an actual joke. We’re all capable of saying funny things, but that doesn’t qualify us to be on the stage.
Do you think it’s an art that can be taught?
Absolutely. There are stand up courses run throughout the UK. These teach you the craft of stand-up as you see on the comedy circuit/TV. If you’re gifted at writing you can qualify very quickly.
Have you ever performed stand-up out of drag?
Yes, I’ve done many gigs as Stephen. Simon Happily used to book me at ‘Comedy Camp’; my debut in civvies was with Topping and Butch at the Brighton Fringe.
How was it?
Utterly terrifying!
And how about dealing with hecklers? What’s the best way to silence them during a show?
Deal with them quickly and establish the fact that you have the microphone and they’re in the dark with gravy on their T-shirts. Probably.
What’s been your worst heckle?
A queen in Bournemouth would not shut up despite repeated put-downs from me so I tried another tact and asked him his name. He replied with “I’m your mum”.
I replied with: “Well, as I cremated her last week after dying of throat cancer, you’re looking pretty healthy”. The queen left. It was my first gig back after my mum’s funeral, so totally justifiable. And it worked. I had the most perfect gig afterwards! Still not sure if I’m proud of that story, but you did ask…
This year you’ll celebrate 25 years as a cabaret performer; how do you think comedy within cabaret has changed over those years?
It has, like anything, changed in many ways. There are now far less patter acts in the style of Phil Starr and Dockyard Doris who could tell jokes to a silent, captivated venue. A lot of the newer acts tell me that patter scares them, but it’s a skill they develop as they grow.
“We’re all capable of saying funny things, but that doesn’t qualify us to be on the stage”
Society’s attitudes and what’s considered ‘acceptable’ to joke about has also changed a lot in that time…
Yes, in this day and age people like to think that they should be more sensitive and complain or petition against certain things, but this just leads to a sense of humour failure.
So, is it important to push boundaries?
I think any subject matter can be funny so long as it is actually funny and not just a reactionary line. For example, replying with Jimmy Saville, Rolf Harris, etc.
Do you have a line you try not to cross and subjects you don’t feel comfortable joking about?
Yes, of course, there are things that I’m not comfortable with, and I’ve never gone down that whole Jim Davidson/Bernard Manning route. It’s just not me. I once saw Joan Rivers do her 9/11 material, which if people listened intently enough to, they’d understand that it wasn’t about mass murder and terrorism, but about the people in NYC she’d always talked about: rich women and unsatisfied housewives.
Which comedians inspired you when you were starting out?
All of the acts on the ITV ‘Audience With’ shows, especially Billy Connolly, Joan Rivers, Bob Monkhouse and our very own Lily Savage. Dame Edna Everage is a genius, too. I love watching comedy in clubs and don’t believe it should be in the O2. And I’ve been lucky enough to work alongside comics I really like such as Jo Caulfield and Stephen K. Amos.
Who tickles you from today’s batch?
I love Sarah Millican! Also a fan of Simon Evans and Jimmy Carr.
So, we’ve got to finish with your all time favourite joke…
It’s one I saw Frankie Boyle do, saying that he thought the memorial concert for Princess Diana wasn’t right and if they wanted to do something that was a true representation of her life then they should have had a gang bang in a minefield.
• Lola Lasagne will be performing at The Victoria (188 Hoe Street, Walthamstow, E17 4QH) on Saturday 29th March.
