The comedian is taking her Edinburgh hit show Talk Dirty To Me on tour, coming to Woolwich Works this May
“It’s a feminist show, but it is also absolutely filthy,” says comedian Eleanor Conway of her show about the female pleasure gap.
Talk Dirty To Me “smashed Edinburgh last year, and I’ve been on tour ever since then. I’m really excited to come to Woolwich”, she adds.
The show talks about how, when women have relationships with men, “we’re not as equal as it may seem”.
Eleanor says: “I always thought that we were equal, men and women, but I think women are still tasked with a lot more work when we have children with men than is equal. I don’t think it’s specifically men’s fault, it’s more of a systemic issue.”
She covers this inequality in the show; Eleanor points towards the “real movement of women opting out of having children”. She says: “We saw our mothers really struggle with that labour and, even if you’ve got a great male partner, it’s sometimes left to you to make this sacrifice in your work and everything.
“I think it’s very difficult to get equality, with childcare being so expensive, for example, and culturally, we think it’s weird if men look after kids. A lot of women are just deciding, you know what, I make my own money, having children looks like hard work, modern dating is an absolute car crash at the moment, the apps have destroyed dating. So, why don’t I just stick with my girls? Maybe a relationship isn’t the end goal?”
The show also explores how to get the pleasure you desire outside of relationships, too. Eleanor explains that, as someone in her 40s, growing up, “I always felt weird for not wanting kids”. But now, she says there are more women in their 20s and 30s choosing to be child-free than when she was that age.
Combining themes of feminism that are hitting women hard, plus a sharp tongue and quick-witted humour is the perfect patchwork of Eleanor’s comedy.
Alongside the show, Eleanor posts on Instagram and TikTok, offering an insight into her work. Of comedians on social media, she says that “comedy has caught up with music, which I used to work in”.
Eleanor explains: “[Social media] is about growing your fan base and selling tickets to that fan base, and that’s what musicians have done forever. It’s just we’ve taken a while to catch up.
“I think it’s great. I think it cuts out the middleman, I think it cuts out gatekeepers, and I think that’s really good. Especially if you’re an older woman, for example, you get to create that tribe around you and I think that’s brilliant.
“Because in the olden days, and when I say olden days, I mean 15 years ago, you’d have to wait for somebody to pick you, like a TV exec, and that’s very limiting if you want to be ambitious, right?”
Eleanor says connecting directly with an audience is taking the reins, and says it allows comedians to “create your own community and tour off the back of that”.
“It’s a great time to be out there at the moment. I love that DIY element of it”, she adds.
And a great time to be in the city… Eleanor says “London is an incredibly special place”.
She moved away from London during lockdown to “chase the suburban dream” and to live closer to family. But “I realised the reality of it wasn’t really who I am”.
“In London, you can be whoever you want, I can be a forty-something child-free woman and still be accepted. There are lots of older people living their own lives, but there are also families and young people and all of the different groups of people, and that’s amazing, but I can be who I want to be and not feel weird,” says Eleanor.
“I used to feel like if I lived in the city, I’ve got to be 25 and drinking and partying. Actually, you can live in London and craft the world with the rules around you that you want to live by. I love London, it’s a nightmare to live in London financially, but I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.”
Talk Dirty To Me at Woolwich Works, Friday 24 May 2024, 7pm
Tickets: £16 standard, £14 concessions. 18+
@eleanorconway on Instagram and TikTok
The Fireworks Factory, 11 No. 1 Street, SE18 6HD
Images by David Titlow
