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Gemma Whelan Interview
Other | Wednesday 7th December 2011 | Osh
This lady is not only the winner of ‘The Funny Woman Variety Award’ in 2010 but also a future star of hit TV show ‘Game of Thrones’. Here’s a sneak peek into her plans for her comedic career…
How did you start going on with your career?
I started when I went to university. I remember very clearly that it was a module at University that I wanted to do but I was too scared to do it. I was supposed to do the musical theatre module and I remember sitting there and thinking I can’t hang out with this lot! So I switched rooms and it culminated in a live gig at the King’s Head. At the time I was 19 and it was the most terrifying yet uplifting experience I’ve ever had. It took me six years to get back to it because I was so frightened by it. I then did another course when I was 25 and then I started gigging on an off. I then properly went back to it let’s say two years ago as a character. I did a couple of gigs as myself then a dear friend suggested that I should try a little bit more Jane Austin and then that worked and so Chastity Butterworth was born!
Are there any reflections of Chastity in your own personality?
Well a lot of it when I think about it is true; my mother is a great source of material for me because she’s slightly alternative. So yeah quite a lot of it’s true, there’s a lot of her in me.
Is she going to get more material soon? I saw her a while ago and was wondering if she is coming back to London soon?
Well I’m gigging quite a lot at the moment because I won funny women last year; I won the variety act award, my prize from that was my own show. So I got that together and I got to do a 45 minute set at Leicester Theatre in the beginning of July. Then I was supposed to go up to Edinburgh with it but then I got Game of Thrones so I couldn’t go to Edinburgh. So there’s quite a lot of more material that I want to use in London but other work got in the way a little bit. So yeah she’s back!
I’ve read somewhere that you’ve got another character called Petrucio who’s supposed to be an Albanian sexpert?
Yeah he’s an old character. I would like to bring him back for a show that I’m hopefully going to do next year that I’m working on at the moment. There are going to be five other characters including Chastity and he’s going to come back because he’s written a book and he thinks he’s a love expert but he’s clearly not. He’s going to help people pick up ladies but he’s just going to give them shit advice.
So when it comes to awards have you won any other awards besides the funny
woman act?
I’ve won the golden lion at the gong show. It’s like the best of the best. So you win your month and at the end of the year the winners get together for the big final and I won the big final of the year. In fact if you last eight minutes and you make people laugh and the audience like you, you win.
So what’s your big gig this season?
There will be a great one at Christmas at Kennington at the Tommyfield. A guy called James Gill runs it, it’s a beautiful gig and he packs it out. I’ve gigged there before and it’s just the most delicious gig I've ever done, it was wonderful! At the Christmas one he’s dedicated a whole evening to Chastity Butterworth!
So that thing we’re not allowed to talk about yet (Game of Thrones) is it going to affect your comedy career?
You know what; I have no idea until it comes out next year. I hope not, no I don’t think so. I think it’s much bigger in America than it is here (modesty).
Wow well that all sounds very exciting! Thanks a lot Chastity! Chastity? I mean Gemma. Hopefully see you at another comedy gig soon.
Yeah I hope so, that would be cool.
How did you start going on with your career?
I started when I went to university. I remember very clearly that it was a module at University that I wanted to do but I was too scared to do it. I was supposed to do the musical theatre module and I remember sitting there and thinking I can’t hang out with this lot! So I switched rooms and it culminated in a live gig at the King’s Head. At the time I was 19 and it was the most terrifying yet uplifting experience I’ve ever had. It took me six years to get back to it because I was so frightened by it. I then did another course when I was 25 and then I started gigging on an off. I then properly went back to it let’s say two years ago as a character. I did a couple of gigs as myself then a dear friend suggested that I should try a little bit more Jane Austin and then that worked and so Chastity Butterworth was born!
Are there any reflections of Chastity in your own personality?
Well a lot of it when I think about it is true; my mother is a great source of material for me because she’s slightly alternative. So yeah quite a lot of it’s true, there’s a lot of her in me.
Is she going to get more material soon? I saw her a while ago and was wondering if she is coming back to London soon?
Well I’m gigging quite a lot at the moment because I won funny women last year; I won the variety act award, my prize from that was my own show. So I got that together and I got to do a 45 minute set at Leicester Theatre in the beginning of July. Then I was supposed to go up to Edinburgh with it but then I got Game of Thrones so I couldn’t go to Edinburgh. So there’s quite a lot of more material that I want to use in London but other work got in the way a little bit. So yeah she’s back!
I’ve read somewhere that you’ve got another character called Petrucio who’s supposed to be an Albanian sexpert?
Yeah he’s an old character. I would like to bring him back for a show that I’m hopefully going to do next year that I’m working on at the moment. There are going to be five other characters including Chastity and he’s going to come back because he’s written a book and he thinks he’s a love expert but he’s clearly not. He’s going to help people pick up ladies but he’s just going to give them shit advice.
So when it comes to awards have you won any other awards besides the funny
woman act?
I’ve won the golden lion at the gong show. It’s like the best of the best. So you win your month and at the end of the year the winners get together for the big final and I won the big final of the year. In fact if you last eight minutes and you make people laugh and the audience like you, you win.
So what’s your big gig this season?
There will be a great one at Christmas at Kennington at the Tommyfield. A guy called James Gill runs it, it’s a beautiful gig and he packs it out. I’ve gigged there before and it’s just the most delicious gig I've ever done, it was wonderful! At the Christmas one he’s dedicated a whole evening to Chastity Butterworth!
So that thing we’re not allowed to talk about yet (Game of Thrones) is it going to affect your comedy career?
You know what; I have no idea until it comes out next year. I hope not, no I don’t think so. I think it’s much bigger in America than it is here (modesty).
Wow well that all sounds very exciting! Thanks a lot Chastity! Chastity? I mean Gemma. Hopefully see you at another comedy gig soon.
Yeah I hope so, that would be cool.
For more information on Games of Thrones go to www.game-of-thrones.co.uk
