Sara & Cariad's Weirdos Book Club - The Appeal by Janice Hallett with Isy Suttie

Episode Date: July 18, 2024

This week's book guest is The Appeal by Janice Hallett.Sara and Cariad are joined by the incredible comedian, actor, writer and star of Peep Show - Isy Suttie - to discuss The Sound of Music, bad directors, Brownies and TIE.Thank you for reading with us. We like reading with you!The Appeal by Janice Hallett is available to buy here or on Apple Books here.Jane Is Trying by Isy Suttie is available to buy here or on Apple Books here.The Actual One by Isy Suttie is available to buy here or on Apple Books here.You can find Isy on Twitter: @IsysuttieSara’s debut novel Weirdo is published by Faber & Faber and is available to buy here.Cariad’s book You Are Not Alone is published by Bloomsbury and is available to buy here.Follow Sara & Cariad’s Weirdos Book Club on Instagram @saraandcariadsweirdosbookclub and Twitter @weirdosbookclub Recorded and edited by Naomi Parnell for Plosive.Artwork by Welcome Studio.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I'm Sarah Pasco. Hello, I'm Carriad Lloyd. And we're weird about books. We love to read. We read too much. We talk too much. About the too much that we've read. Which is why we've created the Weirdo's Book Club.

Join us. A space for the lonely outsider to feel accepted and appreciated. A place for the person who'd love to be in a real book club, but doesn't like wine or nibbles. Or being around other people. Is that you? Join us. Check out our Instagram at Sarah and Carriad's Weirdo's Book Club for the upcoming books we're going to be discussing. You can read along and share your opinions.

Or just skulk around in your raincoat like the weirdo you are. Thank you for reading with us. We like reading with you. This week's book guest is The Appeal by Janice Hallett. What's it about? It's about an amm drum group and a mystery murder. What qualifies it for the Widows Book Club? Well, the central character, her texts full of exclamation marks,

and deep love for amateur dramatics are very weird. In this episode, we discuss. Sound of Music. Bad directors. Brownies. TIE, otherwise known as theatre. in education. If you have ever taken part in that,

just be aware we will be. Or even just have someone coming to your school. Yeah, just be, please be aware. We will be discussing that in some detail. And joining us to speak is Izzy Sati. You'll know her from her comedy, from Peep Show, her incredible acting work,

and she's also a writer, nonfiction, the actual one, and her novel, Jane is trying. Both available now. Welcome, Izzy Sati. Welcome. Welcome. Oh, that was nice, because you can sing, I forgot.

You can sing. No, but not like Izzy can sing. I looked at both you then to do the third one. Yeah, I know, and I was the cute Sarah like, she can. Don't look at me. That was the look of an actor going, so I can do it, so I can do it. I wasn't in an improv mode, just like yes and doing your tunes. I was ready to speak. So I did a very polite, wait to do my talk.

You just blocked it. But the scene to stop. Yeah. That's how improv doesn't work. I think it's because I have an improv husband. I'm very no, but be quiet. Let's try again. No and.

No and. No and. Welcome. I'm still not going to. Would you know what's sad. She really can and she would actually harmonise that. No, I can't. I haven't done one probably in 15 years,

this one I'm trying to say. I'm not what I'm not who I was. I haven't harmonised in 15 years. I don't think you do. Well, let's see. Come on. You're being like a pushy mum. No, because I know how nice your voice is.

That's so intimidating. You just do the first one. No, no, now you're patronising me. We can't win. We can't win. I'm just trying to support her. I just think she's got talent. Is it?

I never when I sent you that text message, maybe two and a half, maybe three years ago. And I said to you, you know, I haven't seen you for a while. But there's a book I'm reading as a character called Izzy, and she's a knob. Yes. Not that you're a knob, but your name is Izzy. Yeah.

And it's set in Amdram. And just because her name is Izzy, I kept thinking of you, and I thought how much you'd like this book. So we were talking about the appeal by Janice Hallett, uh, double L, two T's, which is a Sunday Times best seller, which is set in an Amdram.

society and I like the back really gives it one murder 15 suspects can you uncover the truth which I think is a pretty good um a pretty good back yes the word byline yes copyright whatever is yeah copy yes um so what I love about the way this story is told is that there are these I guess like legal students texting each other I found it confusing at the start I was like it is a bit confusing because they're these extra characters technically What it means is you have these characters who are getting the information just as you are getting the information and reflecting on it, which is almost like a good revision tool. There's one where they're like, oh, can you describe what happened at the yoga event to me to make sure it's really succinct for reader? It's clever.

And it's basically a series of emails from different people in the Amdram society and in this place where it's set. And sometimes texts. And sometimes texts or emails and texts. and then occasionally you have these sort of different font, different art directed texts between the two students who are also, like the reader, trying to figure out what's going on and who's cheating who. At first, I've never read a book like this that's told through the majority of emails,

isn't it? Yeah, yeah. At first I was like, wow, like, how is this going to work? And then I remembered, like, Secret Diavadry Moll, which I thought was a real diary when I read it. Yeah. Just didn't sort of two townsend was like, yeah. someone who'd found it under a edge.

Well, well done soon, handed it in and got it published. Well, typed it up probably the handwriting. Absolutely. She must have known this vulnerable soul and seen something in there. I hope he got the money. He was so real. Yeah, he was so real. Where is Pandora now?

But I mean, I have to say, I don't know if, is this the right time to say? Sure. I'm going to say it. I loved it. Oh, good. I really, and I don't use that lightly. No. You know, I read an awful lot like you to do.

And a bit like, you know, when we all started in comedy, we were like, everyone who gets on stage is just so amazing, like they're really brave. And like, I love that bit they do about it. It's a bit sexist, but actually it's really funny. And I think as you get older and more experience, you kind of go, oh, yeah, I see what they did there. Yeah, yeah, okay, I admire that, but it's not that funny kind of thing.

I sort of feel a bit like that with books, in that I've read so many now. Yes, you can see the workings. Yeah, I admire it, but I don't feel under the kind of skin of it. With this, I honestly haven't enjoyed reading a book this much for years. It brought this kind of child, like, joy in me. So, the comedy in it, you know, because lots of books are described as laugh out loud. And again, you sort of face your eye and go out by the judge of that.

I see, you know, they've made a joke. So it's laugh out loud. She drank Pino Grigio rather than Sauvignon Blonde. What a faux par with her work colleague. I said my daughter's had a play date the other day with another seven-year-old who turned to me and went, I've got a joke and I was like, oh, have you? And I thought, Carrie, I fit in my head was like, come on then, hit me. Hit me with your joke, seven-year-old, because I've seen quite a few.

Do you think that their parents were like, so Carrie has a little talent spot. She can really, she probably get you on the next QI series. Yeah, making it practice it all night. What key opens a banana? Monkey? Yeah. It's solid. It's not bad.

It's not bad. I'd say it's factual. Hey, that would kill on QI. That would kill on QI. Come on. Anyway, so, yeah,

so you're going to say it is laugh out loud funny. But it's not just that it's laugh out loud funny. It made my soul happy. And I think that there's a real deep, deep-seated pleasure which comes from every direction, the familiarity with the world. And it is a book about murder,

what you should say. But it is odd. That's what I mean that it is so joyful. Well, that's what's what's what character. and I had had. When I had suggested this book, Carrie, I thought, well, I don't want to read a murder book. And it's, I don't think it is a murder book.

I thought it's murder mystery. When I saw it and I bought it and I thought, oh, God, what's Pascow chosen? Good people, like, good characters, good story. You're chundering through it. Also, the way the information is just sort of leaked out. Yeah. It's so clever.

Yeah, it's clever. It's not simple as well. It's not like when you're like, oh, it's a simple book and that's what I'm enjoying that it's not too heavy. Exactly. It's not a holiday reading in 30 commas. No, it's not like that. No, no. I know. I feel like, especially towards the end, I was like, I noticed Sarah that you've turned over certain pages. Like, do you turn over the pages where it had a list of characters?

Oh, I really love that. There was a bit early on where it gave a list of characters than again much later when they were doing the start the investigation with Femmy and Charlotte, the student lawyers. And I was like, I need to turn this page over because there are so many characters. Yes. But you never, you have to concentrate towards the end. Like it's like a puzzle that I was imagining it like. You know the inside of like a pomegranate? It's like it has to swirl in a certain way. You can almost go to the centre of it. I felt like that.

Like the way she must have had to construct it, I don't have no idea whether she started at the centre. The technical ability she needed for this. Yeah. It's like maths. Yeah, yeah. All clicks into place. Yeah.

And you do feel a bit like a detective when you're reading it, don't you? I was like, I noticed that actually. Yeah. That was a bit I noticed early on in one of the main character, I suppose, main character, Martin. A few main characters, but in one of his emails, he does something that I was like, only I noticed that. Just me and Janice. And you do start to feel like, wow, how would I solve it?

I think you really feel immersed. I also wonder if you know you do get, like I think that there's a reason that it really works, that it's murder, which is a brutal, awful thing, housed in the kind of, And it's not that soft, I don't think, the Amdram world in this book, which I was really glad about. Because I didn't want it to be like, you know, Linda took to the step. You know, it could be a bit. It's very real. It is. And there's no way Janice hasn't spent a large portion of her life in amateur dramatics.

Yes, yeah, yeah, yeah. You couldn't see. She thanks the group that she clearly was a long-time member of. But it is real. But I still think it's a reasonably innocuous setting. It's not set in, you know, a rough city or even, I suppose, a cutthroat workplace where everyone's out, it's doggy dog.

It is set in a place with its own rules and a hierarchy. And I love a theatre. Yeah. Well, yes, in a real performance. This is a lovely review of the play in the local couples. Couples doing it together, but some couples not, you know, the husband not being as invested as the wife or vice versa. And Joyce and Marianne, who are kind of like two old ladies who think do the makeup.

And this made me laugh so much where they're talking about something's happened, This is an email from Marian to Joyce. Stay safe, Joyce, don't get involved. Joyce to Marianne. I won't. I'm on my way there now. I don't. I don't.

It's so funny. That detail where you're like, oh, two mid-lays women who are just absolutely loving this drama. There was another moment with Joyce where someone is fundraising. Oh, God. Yes. And these raffle tickets are £10 each or £100 for a strip because they have to raise a lot of money for a sick girl. And she keeps mentioning to people, you'd sell a lot more if they were cheaper. Yeah.

You'd sell a lot more if they were cheaper. And eventually she says, look, if they were a pounded, said a lot more and Sarah Jane's like yeah but we need to raise 250,000 not two pounds we do it's very very funny and also it's not scared to the topics it you know yeah it talks about a very ill young girl like you know it's not cozy in that sense it's not safe but because the narrator is much more worried about the size of the part she's going to get and help you all learn their lines as technically right from the very beginning this isn't a spoiler there's a two-year-old who has a form of leukemia and desperately need some very expensive drugs from

America. But because we're finding out about it by someone who's like, oh, God, that's awful. Probably you're a bit too busy to learn lines. If she can't do the park, maybe I could. I mean, I know I don't have a good American accent, but I will practice. I'll practice every day on my lunch break and we can help out. Yeah. And so, so the tone is really, really not dark. It's not. And I suppose because those characters feel very real and we all feel we know them, because we've got access to this intimate correspondence as well, it makes everything else ring true. So she really skillfully creates a world that you completely trust,

which is key actually, because when, you know, towards the end, you start to go, oh, this is the legal bit, oh, my gosh, they were doing this. And I wasn't expecting it because I, if someone had said to me at the beginning, because you know sometimes with thrillers, they'll say like twists and turns, so you're already on your guard at the beginning, which you don't like because then you're going, is that real?

Who's that? I don't like about the shadows. I'm too stressed. Yes. Who can I trust? It was actual twist and turns because I wasn't going, oh,

and there will be, you know. Yes, like getting on a water slide and thinking it's going straight down. And then it... Or forgetting you're on a water slide because you're just enjoying the ride.

And they're like, oh shit, it's a slide. It's like reading this book on a water slide. Yeah. And then realizing you've got to the bottom. With an Amjam society.

I thought, I haven't laughed as much at a book since Love Nina, which I think you've done on this, I really thought it was so fun. Did you guys do Amdram? I was just about to ask you that, yeah. What's your Amdome experience? I mean, I did it from a young age, did Matlock Operaatic Society, Bakewell Youth Theatre. But Bakewell Youth Theatre was a youth theatre, so although it was Amdram, we were all kids. Whereas Matlock Operatic Society was closer to this, because there was like a big mixture of ages. What parts did you play?

So I only did one show with Matlok operatic, as we called it. And it was the sound of music, and it was because they needed a Liesel. And I was 16 going on 17. Oh my God, you did Liesel? I was Liesel. And what I remember is... Was it creepy? Did they make it creepy?

Or they made it okay? No, I mean, just... I don't think you can get away from the hierarchy within... No, there was no creepiness, thankfully. But there was definitely that thing of like, you know, that kind of vibe of like, Louise will be playing this. And Kevin always does the light. And not in a bad way, just in that way of people who've got that kind of those years.

Yeah. Of like this is, this is their life. People are giving up a lot of their spare time. I made a big error in the sound of music, though. There was this bit that so I played, I don't know if you remember in the film, but Lisa plays the guitar a bit. And so they said, oh, you play the guitar, you play it in the show. And I said, yeah.

But I hadn't tuned it. I've been messing about with it backstage and pretending to hit Rolf with it, I think. And it'd gone out of tune. And so I had to start an a cappella. version of the Hills Alive and the sound of music at the end of Act 1 by playing the starting note

on the guitar and that was the note for everyone to begin with so they said, Lisa, give us a G. I would have been absolutely fact too. Oh my God, it was just

so I went, don't, I was like, oh my God, that is too low, that's too low. But it was G if it was tuned properly or whatever note

it was supposed to be so everyone was like, the hills are alive like looking round and then the orchestra had to come in and join in it was like so out.

It was just, it was awful. Yeah. You had one job, is it? I had one job, but you can't trust a 16 year old to do that job. No, you should never have trusted 16 year old. Did you have a thing where the teachers or who were running it were slightly older adults? Oh, sure. Well, I remember the director being a bit, no, I remember the director actually being sort of in his 50s or 60s, which means he was probably about 21.

But no, I do remember that from Brownies. I remember that with Brownies, there were. people there, you're like, I can't believe you're not still a brownie. You know what I mean? Where you reach that really interesting age where you're given a bit more responsibility. And you're like, I'm Brown Al's assistant now. I'm tawny out. How old are you at Brownies then, is he? Well, I started brownies when I was about, well, no, seven, don't you? Yeah. And then two brownies got thrown out of my brownie group.

I'm sorry, one did. No one, but the other one was sort of, so one of them threw another one's shoe onto the roof of the village hall right onto the roof. And this is the bit that I remember, this is how I remember it, but now telling it, it seems really odd. There was a local fireman who lived, there was a local fireman who lived like five minutes walk away. And they were like, let's call Martin. He'll have a ladder because it's a fireman. I'm like, is he, where is your book? They write this shit down. This is what we want. Maybe we need a brownish version of this. So they, yeah, they said,

Martin will have a ladder at his house because he's a fireman. Oh, right. And he did. But I don't think it was because he was a fireman. He just had a ladder. But so in my head, as a child. It's attached to the truck. Everyone takes stuff from work.

I just took it out to clean it. It wants a fire extinguish. That's my hose. That's a pre-existing house. So, yeah, so he brought the ladder. Right. And rescued the shoe. But then the brownie who threw it up as far as I remember was

Got kicked out for wearing a shoe. And another thing about shoes from around that time is that I went to Sunday school as well, which I think is a similar vibe in turn of the hierarchy. And they decided that we should play a game where we all took our shoes off and put them in a centre of a room with the curtains drawn, turned the lights off so it was pitch black. And the idea was that in the darkness we had to find our shoes by touch. Oh my God. They turned the lights off and said go.

And essential Christian skill. Absolutely. Can you find your shoes in the dark? It's all confirmed until you. And within about 10 seconds, someone had broken their leg. Yeah, of course. There's children running around. That's absolutely, why would you do that?

And a load of shoes in the middle. Someone with a shoe fetish. I tell you now. Slippy floor. I bet that was a polished church floor. Socks, tight. That's absolute ice skating disaster. I know.

That's insane. Yeah. I am dramatic experience started with a youth group like yours, but the people who ran it had all just left central. So again, so the strange thing was you had people who were 40, I was 14. I was probably, my sister Cheryl was 12. So we would have been like on the younger end of it. But 17, 18, 20, 21 year olds.

And then they take us drinking afterwards. And so from 14 we had this sort of fast track into adulthood via drama. And they really wanted to go back to drama every week. Your mum was so pleased. No, she was because I'd been sent there as a punishment on Wednesdays and Sundays. And then actually, then we really went off the rails. She thought we were feral before we did the whiz. Why were they taking you?

We really were feral after us. Glinda. Oh, Glinda. This is why this book, as soon as I started reading it, this whole like audition thing and audition list, it was my very first experience of nerves. Nerves or something. And essentially, you just had to sing happy birthday at the audition. It wasn't like what we now know to be auditions.

You wouldn't do a third note of harmony for us. But for the whiz, you'd do happy birthday. Do you do the whole of happy birthday on your own. Not the whole of happy birthday. I didn't know his birthday. I just got to the name and stopped. But then I got this sort of, I got the part with lines. You know, Glinda has scenes.

And it was such a life-changing thing because then it became my entire life. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then it didn't matter what happened to school anymore because I had this new group of people outside of school. I felt exactly like that with Bakewee Theatre. I still like have such a strong feelings of thankfulness and emotion about it. about it because it was like when I was very troubled at like 14 and 15, it was the only time that I felt like I could be myself. Yeah.

Yeah. Or even finding out who yourself, who you are, I know that sounds like a very cliched thing, but you do have to go to a place where no one knows you and probably for most young people, you don't, your family, your parents, your siblings, they assume that you are who you are and it's very difficult to sort of convince them otherwise. Yeah. And if people have known you all through school, there is no sort of changing of like, hey guys, I'm back from the summer holidays.

Guess what? I'm cool now. Is it like when I decided to be known as IJ? So I said, because my middle name is Jane, I came back from a summer holiday and I was like, guys, my name is IJ now. I won't answer to anything else. And then it was so hard for everyone to start calling me IJ. Wow. But guys, I've decided it's going to happen again.

Yes, please. How old are you in that happened? I feel like I was about 13. Yeah, that's maybe a bit like you. I think everything kind of started to fall apart from me a bit like 13. That's when I started going out and doing things I shouldn't do. And yeah. You both looked at me then like, yeah, it didn't happen over here.

The square was watching you. Like, all right, 13, you weren't watching Red Dwarf and just hanging out with your brother? Yeah, yeah, that's cool. Did you do I'm drama? I did like a drama group. It doesn't sound like the same. I went to the kids one and then I got asked to join the older one. And there was an amazing, again, it wasn't maybe not as formative.

There was an amazing teacher called Amanda. I don't know why the rest of her name on. But she tried to get me an audition for, I went to a kid, BBC audition for a kid show. I did not get the part in this educational TV drama. But someone did say you could do this and this is possible to you. She literally, I remember standing there saying to my mum, oh yeah, she should do it. And I remember hearing it and being like, oh, that's something I'm good at. And I definitely had the same thing of the only place I felt happy was when I was doing drama classes.

So joyful. It was so amazing. But do you remember when you were living with me and we were struggling our day, and I auditioned, this is like much older, I auditioned for an Amdram in North London. I'm not going to say where because I know it still exists. I auditioned for Amdram after university. No, but do you remember that you would, I think you were doing comedy by this point. And it was a local group somewhere in North London.

And they would take you for the summer and go to like a very good provincial theatre. Oh, yes, yes, yes. And I get paid. No. Okay. But they went to this really good theatre, which again, I'm not going to say where it is. And I went and got a part because obviously like, again, it was like everyone there was like 50.

Yeah. And I didn't realize what I was entering to. And I think very quickly the week after I got like an acting, like a slightly more like, I know, TIE job or something. And I had to drop out. Oh God. They wouldn't have taken that well. It was so bad.

It was so bad. I felt the, like I had like a Sarah J. McDonald. I had to email and be like, oh, you know, I said I'd come with you all summer and be this part that you definitely need because you don't have any 21 year olds. And they would have been sort of distrustful of newcomers. They were very distrustful of me. And I'd been like, no, I'm looking for what I want to do this.

And they were complete. And I said, I'm not doing it. And they were like, you should never have come to our audition. I once pulled out of a concert at my school, like a Leva's concert. And the head of year told me that John Alamly wouldn't have done that. And if I wanted to have a career, I should be more professional. Also, the last amateur dramatics thing I did was actually at the Brits School. Oh, wow.

And I auditioned because they were sort of taking. And I didn't realize that it was, you could only be a rat. So they were letting all of the children at the Brits school be all of the, the main parts. Oh, right. And then they just had sort of local amateurs just to be rats. What show is this? My fibre?

Right, okay. So there were loads of rats together a bit. So with my ego, that's when I was really like, I kept telling myself, you just want to do it. You just want to do it. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what it is. And then they say rats and you went, no.

It matters. It does matter. I don't want to be a rat. Have you guys done, you like ostentations stuff, their long runs, but because they're always different every night. I don't think this applies. I've only done one. play since I left college apart from.

I did Panto and I did TIE. But in terms of like a play play that's at one venue. Yeah. Oh God. And same thing every night. Nightmare. It was like six weeks. So I got past the first three and I was like okay cool. We've done the Saturday. It's like no, no, no. You've done the Wednesday

and you've got another. And I was like because of stand up. You go, oh my God, this isn't going to change. I've got to do the same thing again and again. How did you find that? Did you? I guess I sort of like tried to remember to uncover a different truth every night. Like I sort of tried to go, like I think I sort of, because I was playing quite sort of a part with an emotional roller coaster within it. I sort of used to go, right, well, tonight I'll think about her loneliness.

Yeah. Because I think otherwise, I don't know how people do. My friend's been in the Lion King for genuinely like 10 years. People get the mouse trap. And it's 11 months or 11 and a half months. And the first thought for an actor is, oh, fantastic, I can pay my rent for a year. And then it's only when you're doing it, they're like 11. I guess that's when, you know, like your passion becomes also like your job.

But I do have that with stand-up, even with a 20, where I really cheer up in the last five minutes because I really finished work. Like I used to at an office. I once did TIE. Oh, I was so bad. And I had a very bad relationship with the director of this company. Once told me, did you know you're beautiful when you're angry? That's the kind of relationship. we had. Do you remember this? You bring that out in, man.

It's your horrible kind of, actually. It is my fault. It is. Thank you. It's just, yeah, what did I mean? Not quite that it's your fault. What does she mean? Thank you. They think, they think it's going to work on you, something like that. It used to work. No, I didn't used to work, but yes, I do know what you mean. When I was young, I used to get it a lot more. And so anyway, I was doing TIA, it was awful. And to do, to punish me, uh, whenever we did a show, I would be cast as like second swordbearer. Like, so, and so I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, did a show where I had two lines. It was like bits of Macbeth.

So it wasn't even the whole Macbeth. My friend was playing Lady Macbeth. He just said, you're not ready. You can't do it. And I had to say, like, I'm my leege, basically. That was it for like an hour in schools. And bless my friend just playing Lady Macbeth. I can tell that every day you're trying to bring something new to that.

I was like, one, it's a little bit patronising from Lady Macbeth. Two, but also like, I am. Isn't that pathetic? I'm trying to say I, my lees different every single fucking day because it's killing me. I also that is what I would have done and what you would have done because it's like you would you've done that. I think you would. It's like that thing of going, this is what's happening at the time.

I wouldn't have walked. Especially if you'd been dressed as a rat. We did a TAE in Italy because it was English for Italian students. And so to make ourselves laugh, because you would do like four or five schools a day, we started making some of the English words sound like rude words. So for each instance, in such cheese, I want some cheese on a biscuit. you can easily segue to jizz

I want some jiz I want some jiz and a biscuit Tarzan would you like some jiz and so but we just became less and less subtle with it until a teacher came up and said I can't speak English like I'm not right what you're doing

it's awful these are children well you do get so bored I did a TIE show when I first left we used to do two TIE shows a day sometimes driving from like Liverpool like down to Blampton scunthorpe And then every evening we did a pant.

We all joined up into a six and did Cinderella, which is two and a half hours long. We're doing all the setups and strikes. I think we got maybe 130 quid a week. And I remember that our heating breakdown in our house, there were three of us sleeping in the attic. It was up north. And the owner of the house was like, I can't mend the heating for you, but I've brought you loads of curry to warm you up. So we like had this massive curry. How fun.

This is fun. Yeah, it was so cool. And then we did the panto in a prison officer's ball, right? The pantos who got booked in the wildest venues. We're doing like bingo halls, caravan parks. Okay, fine, yeah. I remember after the bingo hall, we did wig and bingo hall. And afterwards, this woman came up to us and went, that weren't bad.

You should do it professional. And we were like, this is professional. She thought we were all a family that just went around doing Cinderella for free. But then we did it at this prison officer's ball. They were adults. I don't know why anyone thought that they would want to watch Cinderella at their ball. That's so weird. But I bought a heater off one of the prison officers for a tenor.

And then we had heating in the attic. Seriously, this needs to be written down. We really enjoyed it. And it's difficult to talk about things like, spoiler. I wouldn't want to spoil it for anyone. I wouldn't want to even labour talking around a point. So they start thinking, oh, I think I know what could have. happen because I want readers to have a really sort of open mind.

I would also say, again, like, if you're someone who doesn't like thrillers or doesn't like murder, doesn't like crime books, that's only you. No, there's a lot of us. There's a lot of us. They all listen to the grief cast. They're all traumatised. Oh, I see, of course. Yeah, they don't want stuff.

So I would say, I feel like, even though it does deal with heavy stuff, it's not your traditional thriller book. No, it really is. And I'd say, if you're in a reading rut, if you're someone is like, I can't, I just don't know, I can't get into it. I've forgotten on what to do. Train journey, train journey, something where you want something that actually is going to take all your attention. Oh, I mean, I've had it in like two days. Yeah.

And like... But you really do have to concentrate, like you said. Like it feels like... Yeah, you won't be able to do it in kind of, I don't know, like have a conversation at the same time or watch telly at the same time. No, that is really enjoyable. That's what's so good about it that it's not, it really demands your brain. Yeah, it's... Yeah.

Because yeah, my husband kept trying to talk to me and I was like, no, no, no, no, because I need to follow who's talking to who. He's had years to talk to you. What is probably? Why now? I know I look good when I'm angry. What was it? You only look beautiful when you're angry. That's the twist.

She married him. And I said, he said to me, you can't beat him. And I said, are you fucking joking? And he was like, well, that didn't work. I was like, no. And that isn't that like the ultimate negging saying someone you only look?

Do you know what? Actually, I just remembered. I said to him, I know this, I know we've had a difficult relationship. You remind me of my dad who's dead. And so it's quite difficult for me when you shout at me. And he said, do you know you're beautiful and you're angry and I said are you fucking joking?

And that's when I was like oh okay this guy's mental there we go that's just all been reminded but if you're in a reading rut. Yeah and that can really easily happen if you pick up a book and you aren't compelled. Yeah and then you've half read like five books. It's so compelling. Yeah I can't recommend it highly enough like I've been saying to my partner like I can't believe how much I love this book. It just it's really I've wanted to pick it up every night and I think

When you're really enjoying a book, you feel like you've got like a best friend in your pocket. It's like the secret world that you can't wait to get back to you. And I really, really felt like that with this. And I haven't felt it for a while. It's so cozy at night time. Yeah, yeah. Even though it's but mud. Really holistically, what I would love just before I go to sleep is to put on my little lamp, you know, next to my baby is going to wake up quite soon anyway.

And then read a few pages. But if my book isn't compelling enough, then I don't, I scroll or I end up watching a... Exactly. That's what I mean. You get that rut where you're like, I don't want to pick it up because last time I picked up. It was so depressing.

I just love it. Yeah. I felt excited to get back to it. I think that's such a nice way to describe it. It's like a best friend because I really did feel. And then also, I don't know if this happened to you, both me and Sarah felt I started writing messages like Izzy.

Well, I think I already worked messages like Izzy. I worry that I already do it. No. I started writing emails that were like, exclaimed my own phone. Thanks so much. Sorry for bothering you. I did it.

I went to see Cable Street at Soick Playhouse. I know the producer and the email I sent him afterwards was genuinely about like 16 lines long and it was like, it was one of the best things I've seen exclamation mark. It's like, how on earth did you manage have managed to stage it? It's so wonderfully. Like all these questions. As I was writing it, I was thinking, I'm writing like Izzy.

Yeah. Okay, so this is the kind of character stuff I like about Izzy. She's messaging Samantha Greenwood, who she's going to see. She says, I know we'll see each other in half an hour. So we know. Yeah. But she's still sending her this 500 words. email. If you're feeling wobbly, just send me a text. I'm only sitting outside waiting for Martin to unlock the hall so you won't disturb me. I know, so she's half an hour early for her

sitting outside waiting for someone to unlock the hall. So she can join the Amdram. I know. It's an amazing character. I do really love her. I love her. I love her. I'd say also there's a lovely touch at the end that it's very subtle what I thought was beautiful. Fucking out. I mean, I think there's this got to be a film, blah, blah, blah. But actually, I don't want it to be a film because it works. I'm sure it's probably turned into television, but I think it would be difficult. But then what you lose is the way of the storytelling of it. Some things are supposed to be the form that they're told it.

But also she's created such good characters. She's chosen to use emails as the way of telling it. Yeah, yeah. And there's a reason for that. If you just started to see it acted out. You know, guys, this is going to be Sunday, BBC. Hugh Bonneville is going to be Martin. Joanna Lumley's going to be Helen.

Like, come on, it's all. It's right in itself. I'd be a rat in it, wouldn't you? I hope they're going to put some rats in. Do you know you're beautiful when you're around? This is the kind of line that just makes me feel for Izzy. It will be nice to go jogging together and better for me than sitting in the staff room on my own. Love Izzy.

Oh, Izzy. Absolutely legend. So I saw you speaking to Helen at tea break. Was it about the play? Is there anything you need to know? Ask me and I'll find out to save you bothering her. It's like, you're the person bothering everyone. You're bothering everyone.

You're the person bothering everyone. Five weirdos out of five, as I do you. Absolutely five weirdos out of five. Thank you so much for coming on, Izzy. Thank you. A pleasure. Thank you for listening to the Weirdo's Book Club. Check out our Instagram for all the upcoming books we're going to be discussing in other episodes.

My novel, Weirdo. And Carre's book, You Are Not Alone, are both available now. Thank you for reading with us. We like reading with you.