Josie Long began performing standup at 14 and won the BBC New Comedy award at 17. After studying English at the University of Oxford, she won Chortle awards in 2005 and 2007 and has been nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy award for best show three times. Her new podcast, Speaking With Shadows, an English Heritage series about overlooked people in history, is out now. She performs at Soho theatre, London, 11-20 November and tours the UK in early 2020.
1. TV
Stath Lets Flats (Channel 4)
This is the funniest show I have seen in years. I love how sweet-hearted and loving it is. It’s about an incompetent lettings agent, Stath (played by Jamie Demetriou), and his sister Sophie (played by his actual sister Natasia). They have such a kind, funny relationship on the show: it feels real, actually capturing the ways people have fun with each other. The whole programme is written with a true and clear comic voice that is also incredibly big and silly. I watch every episode two or three times just so I don’t miss anything. I’m already desperate for there to be another series and this one only finished a couple of weeks ago.
2. Fiction
The Testaments by Margaret Atwood
I’ve got a 16-month-old baby and I was recently away for work for a few days – I was nervous to be away from her, but it was really exciting because I never get to read a book these days. I read The Handmaid’s Tale 15 years ago and I’ve been enjoying the TV series, so it was a joy being back in that world and knowing more about the characters. It felt like a feast. She’s a bit kinder to the characters, so it’s almost consoling. By the end, it’s slightly less of an unjust universe.
3. Documentary
Seahorse (dir Jeanie Finlay)
I love Jeanie Finlay’s work – I think I’ve seen everything she’s made. Seahorse tells the story of a guy called Freddy McConnell who gave birth to a son, and about what it means for him to become a dad as a trans man. It’s so brave of him – he really puts himself out there, all of the emotional difficulty, all the vulnerability. There’s so much transphobia around, so it’s a really good film to come out now: it’s loving, and tender, and you come away from it so happy for him and his family.
4. Album
Full Moon in Aries by Roxanne Tataei
Eight years ago, I was part of a group of people who climbed Mount Kenya for charity, and we all did a gig at the top of the mountain. Roxy was singing and I’ll never forget what a beautiful, otherworldly experience it was to hear someone with a voice like hers in that environment. I was reminded of that trip recently and I realised her record’s been out for a year. Her voice and songwriting are sublime, and she has really diverse influences. Pull Me Down is a great song.
5. Play
Parakeet by Brigitte Aphrodite
This play is about young people in Margate – the main character has been forced to move there and she’s feeling homesick, but then she notices the parakeets she loved in London are also in Margate and she starts to feel better. I don’t know anyone else who can structure shows the way Aphrodite does: she’s able to immerse you in a completely full world. Her partner, Gaz, whose nom de plume is Quiet Boy, makes the music, and it’s funny and silly and also beautiful and moving. The lead, Michelle Tiwo, was incredible: it was such a charming performance.
6. Place
Richmond Castle, Yorkshire
I was really lucky to get to go into the old cells here and see some graffiti from conscientious objectors from the first world war. It was the most thrilling experience: it’s such a rare thing to get to see pencil graffiti from 1916. It’s a miracle they survived to this day. Every one of them tells you so much about the person who wrote it: there’s religious stuff, there’s all these ones that are like “Socialism now!”, which I love, and there are really personal ones – one guy did a beautiful portrait of his sweetheart.
