Sandi Toksvig

In a few all too short hours Sandi Toksvig confirmed her place as one of the great female role models of the modern age – and the funniest too. With little more than a few slides she managed to give the audience a potted history of her life and family, and history is the passion it would seem that drives her most. Born Danish, raised in New York and then exiled to an English girl’s public school it is also clear why she is so fascinated by language. In fact the woman is remarkably academic, well read and articulate and she uses these skills to power her performance. I might add that she does this without ever seeming like she is showing off, it’s all tinged with a self-deprecating modesty that appears to be quite genuine. In a nutshell she is simply adorable.

The first half of the evening was dedicated to the foibles of her own life, being a parent, shopping, taking a bus and dealing with the fact that in her role as an entertainer she has become to some extent public property. She also talks about travelling as a woman alone with men, hilarious stuff which had the male members of the audience sniffing their armpits. In the second half she talked about her writing and her new novel ‘Valentine Grey’ from which she read beautifully. Few of us knew that we British had invented internment camps back in the Boer Wars, but there it was, a poignant moment in an evening that balanced fun with well-placed social and political comment. Toksvig is pure gold  – I am sure the audience would have sat there and listened for two more hours.

Concert Hall, Brighton Dome, 1 September 2012

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