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Like father like daughter. Phoebe, given the opportunity to feed herself this morning, chose to use the other end of her spoon to scoop up her porridge. Proof of nature over nurture as this cutlery-based genius has clearly passed down to her in her genes.
Now Phoebe is almost 15 months, she’s old enough to look after herself, which means my wife and I can have a lot more nights out. So tonight we went to see Sofie Hagen at the Soho Theatre. I saw an early incarnation of this show in Sligo last year - http://www.richardherring.com/warmingup/11/04/2015/index.html and heartily recommended it then, predicting it would do well. And indeed it did, winning awards and great reviews and justifiably so. So that’s my victory then!
It was great to see it again on its penultimate performance. Sofie’s honesty and charm disarm you immediately, but as well as being a very funny show, it’s a fascinating glimpse into the world of teenage obsession, sexual awakening and fandom as well as depression and self worth. She kept her late night audience happy in the stifling heat and in spite of the fact that many of them surely needed a wee. Two men made a bolt for the loo during the show, both tellingly after routines in which Sofie had discussed an attempt to wee on a stranger. I suspect if you had a full bladder then that would be some kind of torture, but it’s equally possible that they were so sexually excited by the tawdry tale that they had to go and release their pressure valve before they exploded.
I’d been working all day on a top secret TV show (I wish it was exciting as that makes it sound, but they just told me I couldn’t tweet or blog about it or I would break my contract, so I haven’t- unless this counts). We were stuck inside all day under hot lights, just opposite a lovely park which we could see out of the window. It reminded me of revising for my A levels and seeing all the younger kids and less fastidious students out and about on their bikes in the early summer sunshine. It had felt like I’d never be free, but I was determined to do well in the seemingly hopeless hope that I could get to Oxford University and then get involved with comedy there and then become a professional comedian. Odd to think that that was my impetus to study hard (and I pretty much gave up on my studies once I was at University and embroiled in the world of student comedy and theatre). And yet had I known then that being a professional comedian would mean that I would spend early summer days inside, looking out at other people chillaxing and rilling in the sunshine I might have thought twice about it.
I am glad I worked hard then, though I have spent a lot of summer days inside since, trying and failing to write and working on top secret TV shows that I will never blog about (all right, we were doing an adult version of the Minipops, in which adults dress up as kids and do 1980s pop songs - if that means I don’t get paid, then so be it. I cannot tell a lie). It think the truth is that if I hadn’t been studying for my A levels then I would have been stuck inside playing myself at snooker or Subbuteo. I was never one of those people who was going to be able to relax in the park. I’d be too worried about all the things I was meant to be doing, so would have stayed inside, failing to do them.
I was tired by the time we went out and it was a comparatively late night for us. The show didn’t finish until 10.20pm!!! But we got home by 11 and Phoebe was still alive and asleep, so our decision to let her look after herself had been vindicated. Most people mollycoddle toddlers too much. They will survive if you give them no option. And it’s more important that her parents have fun and can relax and have some grown-up time.
Do go and see Sofie if you get the chance. She is really fabulous.
