I’m gearing up to start recording series 2 of Lee-Ann’s Spare Fridays, my audio sitcom written as a monologue. One of the reasons I ended up writing a sitcom that way is because I have something of a track record of writing monologues for performance. Not always for my own performance - check out I Could Murder A Custard Cream on YouTube, wonderfully acted by Susannah May for Slackline Productions in 2020.
But, I have enjoyed reading monologues, as well as other stories, on live radio and on stage. One that always seems to go down well - in fact it’s been specially requested in the past - is Viv’s 64th.
I first wrote it for my mum’s 64th birthday, quite a few years ago now. She liked Alan Bennett so I was aiming at a Talking Heads style, and it’s written in the voice of Mo, an old lady from West Yorkshire. Basically me channeling my late Nana, not for the first time. It’s not a comedy but there is humour in it.
I only hope she hasn’t remembered there’s a perfect song for today — I can do without her belting out When I’m 64 as she sashays round the sitting room with a handful of peanuts.
If you enjoyed that but would like some out-and-out comedy, there is always series 1 of Lee-Ann’s Spare Fridays, set in a village in the Yorkshire Dales and also about two sisters who are quite different from each other.