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PHOTOGRAPHS BY CONOR CLINCH/KINTZING, NETFLIX, CHANNEL 4Interviewinto acting second.
had been an actor for along
time before stand-up took
off,’ she explains. ‘I was an
actor my whole career, but it’s
only in the past year that
people describe it as “taking
off ”. Something can’t take off
when it’s been slowly in the
air for 17 years!’ Clearly, she’s
not too shabby at it, either.
She has just wrapped another
Netflix project, Living with
Yourself, opposite Paul Rudd,
as well as writing and starring
in comedyThis Way Upwith
friend Sharon Horgan, in which Bea plays a teacher trying to pull
herlife back together after ‘a teeny little nervous breakdown’.
Other acting credits include Hard Sun, Gap Year, The Fall,
Damned,TrolliedandDead Boss. ‘I love pretending to be other
people.When I was doingThe Fall, I was going through a break-up
and remember loving going in, putting on a nurse’s outfit and
zipping up as someone else for the day. To get an escape from
yourself,in a lovely and creative way.’
Stand-up,though,hasbeen a whirlwind. In 2011, Bea became the
firstwoman in 20 years to win theSo You Think You’re Funny?stand-
upcompetition, before selling out her debut solo show at Edinburgh
Fringe in 2013. Bea’s stand-up is observational, sharp and witty,
poking fun at both herself and those around her (watch her ‘fat-thin’
routine on YouTube ASAP if you haven’t already). In 2014, she won a
British Comedy Award for Best Female TV Comic, and in 2016,
landedthe first female captain seat in8 Out Of 10 Cats, appearing on
rything fromLive At The Apolloto James Corden’sA League f
Thei and Never Mind The Buzzcocks. Alongside her act
projects, she ently starring inThe Comedy Lineupon Netfl
‘It went from nough ’ agrees Bea. ‘I was on TV a year and a h f
after I started stand-up. I fe I’d been picked up by a tornad
Does she feel pressure meeting p le being the ‘funny’ o
‘No, actually,’ she says. ‘I’m not a shy p so I don’t
talking to my therapist about this recently – abou
between confidence and self-esteem. If I were to say
confident that would be ridiculous. I can go on stage in fr f
6,000 people and walking into a social situation I’m n
nervous. But self-esteem is “what do those 6,000 people th
of you?” Someone might have amazing self-esteem, but not
confidence to get up there. I think a lot of performers have lself-esteem; I definitely fall into
that category. That’s something I’m
trying to work on.’
Then there is the small matter
of attention on her personal life,
something that Bea (who dated
Michael Sheen and was most
recently linked to Andrew Garfield)
is still navigating. ‘What is odd, is
when you meet someone for the first
time and you can be Googled. Or
theycan,’ she considers. ‘We areall
becoming more in the public eye,
but you do start to care less and less.
One great thing about being a stand-up is that I can
address it on stage. It must be hard for people who
don’t get to use their voice. I can always take that back
with a microphone, even for 60 people in a small
comedy club. I feel lucky to have that element of control.’
Thankfully, Bea has the support of her ‘comedy
sisters’ – Roisin Conaty, Katherine Ryan and Sharon
Horgan. ‘After one panel show went awfully, I rang
Katherine and Roisin crying, and they were in terrible
moods about it, too,’ recalls Bea. ‘You’re not looking
for people to have a bad time, but by connecting over
real experiences, you feel calmed. Like, “Oh, Iam
normal”. We are a very tight community.’ The notion
of ‘competition’ between the women doesn’t factor,
either. ‘There was a long time where people didn’t
believe in the universal law of abundance – that there
is no limit to how many women you can put on TV,
because TV expands,’ she explains. ‘When there was
a limit to TV and there were too many shows, Netflix
got developed. When Netflix got overwhelmed,
YouTube developed. Then Facebook TV started.
There isno limitto how much space there is, because
if you make a story people want to watch, they’ll find
it. I’m not the newFleabag,Fleabagis not the new
Girls,Girlsis not the newSex And The City– they are
all separate things, and there can bemany. Maybe it’s
because I grew up with women, but I really believe in
an abundance of women.’ Amen to that.■
This Way Up will air on Channel 4 in August, and
Living With Yourselfwill be on Netflix later this year.‘Tosay I’m notconfident would beridiculous. I can goon stage in frontof 6,000 people.But self-esteemis something I’mtrying to work on’Beastarring in new
TV sitcomThis Way
Upalongside Sharon
Horgan (far left);
onstage in stand-up
NetflixseriesThe
Comedy Lineup(left)