Harriet Kemsley looks back: ‘My parents say I was a very well-behaved child. Sadly this has been in steady decline over the years’
#Harriet Kemsley #comedian #stand-up comedy #shyness #dyspraxia #motherhood #personal growth #comedy therapy
📌 Key Takeaways
- Harriet Kemsley transformed from a shy, well-behaved child into a successful stand-up comedian
- She uses comedy as therapy to process difficult experiences, including sexual assault
- Dyspraxia contributed to her being a 'chaos magnet' throughout her life
- Motherhood to daughter Mabel changed her self-perception and helped her discover her capabilities
📖 Full Retelling
British comedian and podcaster Harriet Kemsley, born in Canterbury in 1987, reflects on her journey from a shy, well-behaved child to a successful stand-up performer in an upcoming interview, discussing her career beginnings in 2011, her personal struggles with shyness and dyspraxia, and her upcoming show 'Floozy' premiering this October. Kemsley, who has won multiple best newcomer awards and appeared on shows like '8 Out of 10 Cats' and 'LOL: Last One Laughing UK,' reveals how her childhood on a farm shaped her personality, from becoming vegetarian at age eight after realizing the connection between animals and meat to developing an allergy to raw fruits despite growing up surrounded by raspberry and pear bushes. The candid interview explores how her dyspraxia contributed to her being a 'chaos magnet,' with embarrassing incidents becoming a constant throughout her life, including being urinated on by a rhino at the zoo and struggling with basic coordination tasks like sitting through meals without knocking over glasses. Kemsley details her unconventional path to comedy, including studying at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York, working as a news transcriber while developing dark material from sleep deprivation and exposure to global tragedies, and performing her first stand-up gig under a pseudonym due to lack of confidence, which ultimately led to her discovering her true calling despite initial fears and self-doubt.
🏷️ Themes
Personal growth, Comedy as therapy, Motherhood and career
📚 Related People & Topics
Harriet Kemsley
English stand-up comedian (born 1987)
Harriet Kemsley (born 21 June 1987) is an English stand-up comedian.
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Harriet Kemsley looks back: ‘My parents say I was a very well-behaved child. Sadly this has been in steady decline over the years’ The comedian on overcoming her shyness, doing standup in secret and being a chaos magnet Born in Canterbury in 1987, Harriet Kemsley is a comedian and podcaster. She began standup in 2011, winning a string of best newcomer awards. As well as touring, she has appeared on 8 Out of 10 Cats and LOL: Last One Laughing UK. In 2017 she starred in the Viceland reality series Bobby & Harriet Get Married with fellow comedian Bobby Mair, with whom she has a four-year-old daughter, Mabel. She presents the podcast Single Ladies in Your Area with Amy Gledhill, and her new show, Floozy, begins in October. This thick fringe was a big part of my childhood. Sadly now I don’t have the get-up-and-go to maintain one. It’s a separate job altogether. I have no idea where the photo was taken; it could have been Kent, it could have been on holiday, but either way I would have loved that ice-cream. My expression is pure joy. My parents say that I was a conscientious child and very well-behaved. Sadly this has been in steady decline over the years. I was incredibly shy and didn’t know what to say to anybody. Someone would ask how I was and I would panic and say nothing. I have a younger brother and sister but nobody ever thought I was the eldest as I didn’t seem responsible enough. I grew up on a farm. We had a lot of raspberries and pears, so as a kid I would eat them fresh, which is ironic as I’ve since developed an allergy to raw fruit and vegetables. When I was eight, my pet chicken died and I suddenly made the connection between dead animals and meat. After that I became a vegetarian – which was unusual for a farmer’s daughter. My mum used to say, “Funny things always happen to you, Harriet.” Now I know that’s partly because I am dyspraxic. I couldn’t sit through a whole meal without knocking over a glass. I am also generally prone to random comedic incidents...
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