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Interview > Clare SummerskillHand on my heart, I didn’t quite know what to expect when I found out I was going to be talking with Clare Summerskill. A well known comedienne in Sapphic circles would she be devastatingly sharp-tongued and excruciatingly witty, or a life-scarred manic depressive along the lines of other much loved, much lauded entertainers? Thankfully she was neither. Her wit is rather more on the quiet side and her choice of comedy as a medium was more of a conscious decision for her rather than any requirement for a defence mechanism against an embattled childhood or anything. “I don’t think of myself as a funny person,” she says, “I think I just have a knack for observation that makes people laugh. I had a girlfriend once who kept saying ‘I’m the funny one!’ and I think she was right actually. But with regard to the comedy I do think that the most powerful points are often made through comedy.” So what are the things that get you fired up then, I ask her. “Actually one of the things is the number of people who think that gays and lesbians shouldn’t be treated as a minority. We’re not equal yet; people are still getting murdered because of their sexuality. There still is really a lot of prejudice and it concerns me. Take something like the arts for instance – our community isn’t classed as a minority so to get funding is so hard – and to book a lesbian tour is really, really difficult. We’re not on an even playing field – if we were we needn’t do gay stuff – but I think we’re in danger of not seeing it.” Not one just to talk about issues that she feels strongly about, she also doesn’t shy away from tackling them in her work either as evidenced by her critically acclaimed play “Gateway to Heaven” - one of the pieces of work that she is most proud of (and one that did manage to attract Arts Council funding).  The play was scripted entirely from the memories of older lesbians and gay men. “’Gateway to Heaven’ was entirely about them,” she explains, “and not about me. I think it’s an important piece of work, it’s not too long ago – what they went through – and it’s important that their stories are told. It shouldn’t be forgotten – the struggle – and we’re not through it yet.” I mention the Sapphic Central lesbian health series that is due to start soon, part of which will cover issues facing older lesbians and was surprised to hear that she talks at health care provider conferences on just such issues. “Our lifestyle is different and straight people just don’t understand it. Older gays and lesbians in care homes for example just aren’t being catered for and it’s an issue that has to be tackled. We’re going to be very different from our older peers and there are going to be some almighty clashes – it’s got to be dealt with head on.” But it is not for her campaigning and advocacy work that she is best known. If you’ve never seen her live before, think Victoria Wood but with an overt lesbian twist and you’ll be along the right lines. She sings, she writes plays, she does stand up, she acts but out of all of those things does she favour one particular style? “Not really, it’s all about communication isn’t it. I have things I want to say and I think I’d get bored if I did the same thing all of the time – no, I like to flit.” She describes seeing Joyce Grenfell – a war-year’s comedy actress and comedienne - on TV when she was young. “She was the first woman I ever saw do a monologue, then a song, then a character and something twigged or clicked with me and I thought something interests me about that – it appeals and interests me. It was way before Lily Tomlin or Victoria Wood, I don’t know, I suppose you could say she was an influence.” Is there something you haven’t done yet that you would like to have a crack at, I ask. “I’ve been approached before and I’ve been trying for years to get a lesbian sitcom on TV but every time we try something out the TV companies just turn them down. It would be nice if one of them would take a gamble on a series at some point, so yes, I suppose there is that.” I ask her if her friends watch themselves around her in case their lives suddenly appear in one of her sketches. “I suppose they do a little,” she laughs, “but then everything is observational, it’s all about the scene and relationships. We have a lifestyle that is different – there are certain things that are unique to it and I do it with warmth and humour and kindness I think. People have said to me in the past ‘Why be a lesbian comedian’ but they don’t understand – it confirms our lifestyle, it validates us as lesbians if that’s not too pompous. Lesbians can come to my shows and recognise themselves in situations and laugh in recognition of our peculiarities, if that makes sense.” I ask her if a lot of herself is also in her work. I once read a short story she wrote called ‘Maggie Maybe’, for instance – how near to reality is something like that? “Oh god, embarrassingly near I’m afraid. I wish I could say I have a great imagination but it’s buttock-clenchingly near!” She sounds embarrassed but her 'recognition' point is made - who amongst us didn’t fall for one of our female teachers at school? Okay, we may not have become pseudo-stalkers but well … read the story – it’s funny. I admit to never having read a bad review of her work – regardless of its presentation style. How much notice does she take of a critic’s opinion, I ask her. “I never put any store by critics – it’s about the gig, and the night and the people there. The commercial aspect of it isn’t that important. The word of mouth thing really works in our community so there’s like a party atmosphere before I even turn up, and that’s what it’s all about. I wouldn’t want poor reviews, but that’s not what it’s about for me.” So, what’s next on the agenda apart from an L of a night? It’s a relief to hear that she is happy doing what she does – there is a new album due out soon and she is currently working on another play. Having spoken with her for a while her answer feels like the right answer for our community: what's next? - just more of the same. Visit Clare's website for further information, tour dates and album sales. |
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