Comedy: Jo Caulfield – Better the Devil you Know

Off the telly & the radio, & much respected on the live circuit, Jo Caulfield talks to Victoria Nangle

Hello! Are you looking forward to coming back to Brighton?
“Absolutely! I love Brighton. It’s got such a vibrant hedonistic feel. Great shops, great bars and great restaurants. There’s an Italian restaurant I particularly like on Ship Street called Piccolo – I’m hoping Brighton comedian Zoe Lyons takes me there after the show. You should come along – and watch two comedians arguing over the bill.”

How would you describe the show Better The Devil You Know to an alien?
“Onstage recently I mentioned I’d got married in New York seven years ago. After the show I got talking to a woman who’d done the same thing. She said ‘Wasn’t it easy? Pay $50, get your licence, three minutes later you’re done. The hardest part is when you get back to Britain and you have to fill in all the paperwork and register it here’. I felt my blood go cold – I didn’t know we had to do that! Then it hit me like a punch in the stomach – I’m not actually married to my husband! The realisation that I’m not a married woman got me thinking, ‘If I could make all my big life choices again, would I do the same things?’ That’s what the show is about, and that’s what I’d tell the alien – before I cut his brain open for medical and scientific purposes.”

Who would be your ideal set-list for a charity gala comedy show – charity gala so you can get at least six of the best on the bill with you…
“That’s a difficult one. There’s so many great comedians, but if I had to I’d pick I’d go for: Jack Dee, Ed Byrne, Wanda Sykes, Paul Foot, Janey Godley, and Joan Rivers… No, I’ve changed my mind – Joan Rivers can go on all six times.”

You’re quite active and sociable in the Twittersphere. How important is social media to the contemporary comic about town?
“I’m addicted to Twitter. I use it for trying out jokes and getting instant feedback. And I couldn’t imagine watching Britain’s Got Talent or The X Factor without reading everyone else’s opinions. It’s comforting to know I’m not the only person screaming at the TV, ‘You can’t sing! And that dress doesn’t suit you!’.”

What will 2013 be bringing you with your fabulous tour?
“It’s shaping up for a busy year: the tour keeps getting extended, I’m doing a play in London for three weeks, I’m recording a new series for BBC Radio 4 later in the year and I’m working on a book about stand up. Having said all that I’ll probably just stay in and watch Murder She Wrote.”

Jo Caulfield – Better The Devil You Know, Komedia, Friday 18 January 2013, 8pm, £12.50, www.komedia.co.uk/brighton, www.jocaulfield.com