Francesca Martinez thread - now actually about Francesca Martinez

[Shit Good Nose]

Didn't get a chance to post in the, ahem, other thread, but I saw her once VERY early on in her career, at Jesters Comedy Club (RIP) in Bristol.  It couldn't have been that long since she'd left Grange Hill.  Anyway, I seem to remember her having a proper potty mouth and spending more time talking about her embarrassing non-English parents than making references to her cerebral palsy, but maybe just because that was a "safer" subject back then - I can't recall many, if any at all, stand ups with some form of major obvious disability making a proper go of it on the circuit (we're talking mid/late 90s here).

Admittedly I haven't seen anything of her since then aside from a few appearances on talk shows and the like, but even back then, at what was the beginning of her career, she was obviously a confident comedian.  She also won the audience over very quickly (although, knowing the typical Jesters audience, the fact that she was a woman was probably more of an obvious issue than anything else...).


Keep it nice, eh lads?

[spamwangler]

enjoyed her turn on richard herring's podcast, thought she was great fun on there

[bgmnts]

I have never seen her work proper. I thought she was quite funny on Extras though.

[biggytitbo]

This could be my imagination but when she was in Grange Hill was there a later episode when they're all in the 6th form where her character tried out at an open mic night and she basically did her act?

[Brundle-Fly]

Did anybody see this bloke on Britain's Got Talent?  He nails it immediately with a line that punctures the tension in the room. For all the criticism this show gets for being cloying, cruel, manipulative etc you can't knock its healthy inclusiveness. It doesn't feel as 'freakshow' as it used to be and all the better for it (even though half the acts are clearly extremely professional, been in the game for awhile and aren't British)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsqInns6LXQ

http://lostvoiceguy.com

[Danger Man]

Did anybody see this bloke on Britain's Got Talent? 

He currently has a series on Radio Four

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0b1srpp

[Shit Good Nose]

He's been on the circuit for a good few years - I saw him on a bill at Bristol Jongleurs, before they employed their own constant rotation of comedians on the payroll, so this would've been 6 or 7 years ago.


EDIT - actually, it couldn't have been Jongleurs as they'd already gone by that point.  Possibly Hen and Chicken.

[Replies From View]

She's very funny in the interview she did on RHLSTP, though the video version appears to have disappeared from Herring's youtube account for some reason.

[worldsgreatestsinner]

Weren't the early ones only audio?

[Replies From View]

Weren't the early ones only audio?

Hmm, yes.  But my memory is that I saw a video of it.  Perhaps my mind is playing tricks.

[Jockice]

Yeah, she's okay. Quite predictable in parts (at least to me) but quite funny in parts as well. I met someone (a non-disabled speech therapist) at the show who I knew but had never heard of Francesca before and had been convinced to go by friends. She told me afterwards that she thought the show was very funny and it also made her think. Which can't be a bad thing.
 
She (Francesca, not Lynne) couldn't remember meeting me though. Come on, it was only 17 or so years ago and neither of our careers have progressed at all then. I stormed off, saying: "Don't you know who I am?" (Another fantasy sequence). And then went and forced myself on a 17-year-old. Or something.

As for Lost Voice Guy, its a great idea and all credit to him for doing it, but again, I know what's coming a lot of the time. I wonder if he applied himself for the show off his own bat or he was hunted down and asked to enter like this guy, who I think is excellent. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taTSxDVEHRM

[holdover]

I remember her from Grange Hill and have enjoyed her stuff when I've heard it. But I do think that her disability sometimes means that her timing is thrown a bit. Can't be helped but it does mean less proper laughs from me.

[sillymisslily]

Did anybody see this bloke on Britain's Got Talent? 

Come on he's won the BBC New Comedy Award he's had his time.

Jack Carroll shits on Lost Voice Guy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taTSxDVEHRM

[Jockice]

Come on he's won the BBC New Comedy Award he's had his time.

Jack Carroll shits on Lost Voice Guy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taTSxDVEHRM

I've already posted that! But fair play, he is great.