Comedian to perform at Down Arts Centre

Comedian to perform at Down Arts Centre

STILL searching for a place she can truly call home, comedian Lucy Porter is taking her latest show Northern Soul to Down Arts Centre next month.

An Edinburgh Fringe favourite, Lucy’s show is about never quite knowing where you belong as she ponders whether geography shapes your destiny.

Born in Croydon to a Northern Irish dad and a Mid-lander mum (who met in Africa), Lucy never felt comfortable as a South London suburbanite.

In her teenage years the comedian reports being seduced by the music of Morrissey, the art of David Hockney the politics of Dennis Skinner, and an actual man from Bury, leading her to suspect that the north of England might be her spiritual home.

Revealing the best and worst places in the UK to do stand-up, Lucy asks in her latest show how much we should be defined by our birthplace, and how hard it is to shake off one’s roots. Is it more difficult to stop being a Catholic or being from Croydon?  

Lucy has moved to Manchester and then Liverpool, but as much as she loved her time there, she didn’t find the sense of completion she had yearned for. Currently living in London, Lucy still finds that her internal compass points North, but now she suspects it might be a symptom of the profound, insatiable longing that CS Lewis describes as ‘The Northernness’.

Stand-up comedy has allowed her travel the world, but she’s still waiting to find a place to settle down.

Lucy can currently be heard on Radio 4 shows including ‘The Unbelievable Truth’ and ‘Jo Caulfield’s Speakeasy’, and she has been a veteran ‘talking head’ for an eclectic mix of topics on BBC2, ITV, Radio 4 and Sky Arts shows including The Bradshaws, Clive Dunne, and Now That’s What I Call Music. As the voice of Playstation’s online magazine ‘Access’ she has also gathered an unexpected teen following.

Lucy’s critically acclaimed show People Person at the Fringe led to a 42 date tour of arts centres and theatres in 2013. As part of her Northern Soul UK tour Lucy is stopping off at Down Arts Centre on May 16. For further details contact the centre on 028 4461 0747.

“Bright and frank …proving that her time off has not dimmed her comic energy, just given her richer material to work with” (Observer)

“…refreshingly breezy…someone who finds sweetness even in a man that stole her credit card. Porter is a kitten with enduring appeal.” (Metro)

“She is like your witty friend who’s always brilliant company down the pub. Many stand-ups would give their non-drinking arms to be able to transfer that kind of sparkling barroom bonhomie to the stage and Porter does it effortlessly’ (The Scotsman).