list.co.uk/comedy ISY SUTTIE
THE DATE SHIFT
PHOTO © IDIL SUKAN
Popular musical comedian and Channel 4 star Isy Suttie talks to Brian Donaldson about the perils of having mum handle her online dating profi le
'I do talk about sex. I mean it’s not Jordan’s autobiography or anything, but if I thought it would be good for the reader to know something then I’d put it in. And the best bit, of course, is you
can’t see people’s faces when they’re reading it.’
When it comes to getting down and dirty, Isy Suttie, aka Matlock’s i nest musical comedian, has always come across as more Victoria Wood than Victoria’s Secret. But in her just-published memoir, The Actual One, there are sordid tales of an Australian fuck-buddy, running naked into a freezing sea at New Year and various fumblings around the internet dating game. That avenue for seeking love and lust is perhaps not helped by the fact that Isy’s mum insisted on compiling and updating her daughter’s proi le. ‘She started choosing guys and logging in as me,’ states Suttie with a barely disguised mix of horror and humour. ‘It culminated in a bet where if I didn’t end up with a boyfriend in a month I’d go on a date with someone she’d chosen. She really got into it. I talk a lot in the book about the nature of relationships according to my experience and the fact that I know more unhappy people who are in relationships than aren’t. This isn’t a book that’s the equivalent of a romcom where I’m all Bridget Jonesy and eventually i nd someone to live happily ever after with. And nor is it me going about leaving my knickers on rugby posts. It’s quite an honest account of me bumbling through life trying to make the best of things.’
When she came to deciding the structure of The Actual One (whose working title was Glass Half Full), Suttie took a degree of inspiration from Lena Dunham, creator of US hit comedy-drama Girls and author of Not that Kind of Girl. ‘Her book is written in essay form where
there’s no narrative per se or even a thread running through it; it’s just chapters about different periods of her life and that works brilliantly. I’d toyed with doing my book that way but it felt that the right thing was to write about a concentrated period of time.’ While The Actual One tour is more akin to a series of book events with stand-up bits included, Suttie isn’t leaving the live comedy world behind. And that’s good news for anyone who enjoyed her Edinburgh Fringe shows such as Love Lost in the British Retail Industry, Pearl and Dave and the seemingly de rigueur pun-on-your-own-name show title, The Suttie Show. ‘When I was growing up, I always wanted to be an actress and musician,’ she says. ‘I never thought I’d go into comedy though I was always larking about and playing the fool at school. I used to write these serious songs and, around 18, really thought I could be a folk singer and an actress. I just knew that I’d want to tell stories in my songs.’
TV has also come calling for Suttie with appearances opposite Alan Davies in BBC’s kitchen drama Whites, as a regular character in Shameless’ 11th season and, arguably her biggest coup, with a recurring role across several seasons as Dobby in Peep Show. With that series ending last year, it was the right moment for Suttie to rel ect on being part of one of Britain’s most critically adored sitcoms in recent times. ‘When I got on Peep Show I didn’t fully realise how big it was. I remember being nervous for the whole of that i rst series I was in because it felt like a big jump for me.’ Thankfully, Isy Suttie has landed expertly on her feet.
Isy Suttie: The Actual One, The Stand, Glasgow, Tue 15 Mar. See book review, page 52.
4 Feb–7 Apr 2016 THE LIST 55