Fringe preview: Miss Glory Pearl

Miss Glory Pearl's career path has wound from classroom to cabaret with a spot of naked stand up thrown in for good measure. William Gadsby Peet discusses nudity and verse

  • Naked stand up, how did that come about?

It was really a wardrobe question. I’d been performing burlesque with elaborate costumes and hosting cabaret with glamorous costumes, and I thought, what would I wear for stand up? What sort of stand up do I want to be? And I felt that every outfit would somehow define me, and let people put me in a box, so I thought, why not do it naked? That way no one would know what box to put me in. And the idea made me laugh so I did it. It’s the most terrifying thing I’ve ever done, but the absurdity of it does still make me laugh.

  • You used to be a teacher, what made you want to trade rulers, pencils and rubbers for burlesque, pole dancing and comedy?

The simple answer is a very large mortgage! I left teaching because I’d achieved everything I wanted to achieve, and I started a career in advertising. But starting again meant starting at the bottom of the pay scale again, so I started performing for extra income and it kind of took over. But teaching and performing have lots in common – crowd control mainly.

  • This year your shows have a poetic focus, what do you love about verse?

Ah, where to start? Poetry really is my first love – I can still recite many of the poems I learned as a child and I think that’s where my love of language stems from. I started writing poetry again last year, mainly because I’d hit a wall with the material I was working on. I decided to put the material aside and write something just for fun. The poems came so easily that before I knew it, I had an hour of new material. The first time I tried them out on an audience, I only managed to get through three of the five poems I was performing in a five-minute spot because the audience were laughing so much. I was delighted by the reaction, the ‘You remind me of Pam Ayres’ comments that have followed, not so much.

  • You’re hosting an open mic poetry salon for the Free Fringe, do those taking the stage need to be in the nude?

Ha! Nudity? It’s a family show! I’m really excited about The Poetry Parlour. It’s a new concept – part poetry slam, part karaoke – a poeesloweeokee, if you like. Poetry should be heard, not read, so I’m hoping people of all ages will come and read their own poems, their favourite poems, or one of the famous poems in my big, black folder. You’ll be able to put your name down to read – just like at the karaoke – and then the stage is yours. I’ll be reading some of my favourites and some of my own poems. It should be a fun (clothed) night. And it’s free!

  • Your favourite two lines of poetry?

Now that’s a difficult one. It’s a toss up between ‘One day in Perranporth pet shop, On a rather wild morning in June,’ and ‘Darkness outside. Inside, the radio’s prayer - Rockall, Malin, Dogger, Finisterre.’ The former is by Charles Causely and the latter by Carol Ann Duffy. But it’s so hard to choose – I’m one of those pretentious types who’s always dropping lines of poetry and Shakespeare quotations into conversation. I make no apologies for it. As Coleridge said, poetry is the ‘best words in the best order,’ so I’m all for using them as often as possible. Now I really do sound insufferable. Good job my new show, Body of Verse is so funny it’s caused at least one episode of incontinence.

Miss Glory Pearl will be hosting a poetry parlour at The Keep Pub on July 1 as part of the Free Fringe. For more information, visit: guildfordfringefestival.com

Miss Glory Pearl will also be performing her new stand up routine, Body of Verse, on July 28 at the Star Inn. For more information and to book tickets (£10), visit: guildfordfringefestival.com

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