The Long view

Rose Harland • Last updated 21 Feb 2008 10:03 0 Comments

JOSIE Long's enthusiasm and zest for life have been winning over judges and audiences alike. Proving that stand-up can be funny without resorting to cynicism and cruelty, the 25-year-old has already received a collection of awards, and given a sold-out performance at last year's Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Now Josie is embarking on a new nationwide tour, Trying Is Good, which will come to Reading at the beginning of February.

"The show's about fantastic, weird strangers, but it's not taking the **** out of them," said Josie. "It's about celebrating them, and getting to know people as they let their guard down.

"It's connecting with people and being friendly.It's also about how I've been trying to get to know myself, and live with the person I am."

Josie added: "You shouldn't judge people too harshly. I want it to be as kind as possible and as full of as much energy as possible."

And energy is something Josie certainly has in abundance.

She has been involved in live performance for nearly a decade, winning a host of awards, including Chortle.co.uk's best breakthrough act 2007 and If.Comeddies Newcomer 2006.

"I started when I was really, really young," said Josie, who grew up in Orpington, Kent, and now lives in Peckham Rye ("the golden, shiny gem of the south," as she put it.)

"As a present, mum bought me a place on a stand-up comedy workshop," she continued.

"I was the only kid there, but I liked it and I wanted to do it forever.

"Then, when I was about 16, I started doing live comedy spots and entering competitions, and came second in one. I knew I really, really wanted to do it for my life."

While Josie was growing up, she also made the mandatory coming-of-age pilgrimage to Reading Festival. "I went in 1997, 1998 and 2000," she said. "I was 14 or 15, and I remember thinking, ‘Wow, everyone here is like, 17, it's amazing.' Then when I went back, I was 18, and thought ‘Everyone here is 17, that's rubbish!'," she laughed.

After taking a three-year break from comedy, to study English at Oxford, Josie started performing live again, supporting Stewart Lee on a nationwide tour, and giving a sold-out performance of her aptly named show Kindness and Exuberance at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

"My last show was all about DIY culture," said Josie. "Stand-up is about doing that, doing your own thing and taking control. It's about making your own individual sense of humour."

Josie added: "Whatever happens in my life, I will steal." In addition to stand-up, Josie holds regular comedy nights, and also produces a fanzine, Drawing Moustaches in Magazines Monthly (Bi-Monthly).

"If you can't find what you're looking for, you should do it yourself," said Josie.

"You can do slightly different things with the fanzine, and have more things going on at once, although I do show pictures on stage.

"I draw comics as well."

Long's DIY ethic draws from riot grrrl, the 90s feminist movement that encourages female creativity and self-expression.

"I think riot grrrl is brilliant," said Josie.

"I really believe that either gender can do anything in the adult world."

Josie is impatient with audiences or critics who think that there is something novel about women performing comedy.

"The main problem is that people think there's a problem about it," she said.

"You wouldn't ask a doctor, ‘Do you think a woman can be as good a doctor as a man?'

"It wears you down."

She added: "I try to speak up against prejudice. We still haven't won the battle.

"I don't mind being an angry feminist, because there's plenty to be angry about."

"Being a feminist means you care about women not being demeaned. If you're not a feminist, you're an idiot.

"I think the best thing for me to do is to set an example by doing my own stuff, making sure I'm proud of what I do and it's not demeaning to myself."

Josie continued: "I enjoy stand-up because I like doing my own thing. It's your ideas and you can control it. There's no big waiting process, it's immediate, and it feels like the essence of DIY culture, you create and control it.

"I like things that are hand-made, amateur," she said. "I'm not into things that are slick and mass-produced."

Josie added: "I'm trying to do a radio show at the moment. I like the idea of it penetrating through to where people are.

"I'm not in a rush to be famous and try and sell out," she said. "It doesn't matter to me. I'd much rather do little shows with 30 people."

But as her devoted following continues to grow, little shows may not be an option for long.

Josie Long's show Trying is Good will be at South Street Arts' Centre in South Street, Reading, at 8.30pm on February 1. Tickets cost £10 (concessions available). To book contact 0118 960 6060 or visit www.readingarts.com

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This article appeared in Reading Chronicle 24 Jan 08

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