“I’m waiting for #metoo to hit the UK comedy scene”

In her latest show Clit Stirrer, award-winning feminist, atheist, polyamorous comedian and Have I Got News For You writer Kate Smurthwaite lifts the lid on her reputation as a provocatrice extraordinaire and asks: where did it all go wrong?

Never one to shy away from controversy, Smurthwaite’s comedy has delighted audiences all over the country and infuriated men all over the internet. Her take on feminism, atheism, polyamory and going viral digs into the truth about what it’s like to be a woman in the spotlight.

Kate has sworn, flashed her hairy armpits at Eamonn Holmes, shown up in pyjamas, called a Daily Mail columnist “Dad” and shouted at a nun all on live TV. That’s when she’s not insulting organised religion or the monarchy. But is she the one with the problem? Lots of angry men with very poor grammar on the internet think so.

Now, in an hour of stand-up from the woman described by John Cleese as “fun, energetic & full of ideas”, Kate  takes on everything from alpha males to holy grails.

“explores her reputation as a provocatrice extraordinaire” Just how accurate is this reputation? Have you grown into something of an onstage persona, different to the everyday you? 
Onstage I’m pretty similar to how I am offstage. Chatty and compassionate.
What seems to have become a bit of a monster is my wider public reputation. I get put on TV a lot with some pretty unsavoury characters. Like any right-thinking person, I take the time to call out bigotry and to challenge hatred. They generally don’t take it very well, so I have a reputation for being argumentative and confrontational.
All that would change in a heartbeat if I was ever allowed on the telly with lovely caring people!

Kate Smurthwaite: “Like any right-thinking person, I take the time to call out bigotry and to challenge hatred”

Tell us about life as a polyamorist. How did that come about for you, and how is it working out? How does it compare to the monogamous lifestyle that most of us lead? What are the gains and losses?
I’ve been polyamorous for many years so it’s not really a question of how is it working out. Monogamy didn’t make me happy, and poly does. It’s the right fit for me. I wouldn’t live any other way. As a comedian, there are certainly gains. There’s always a new dating story (come hear about red goo guy). And there’s just an increased range of people I hear anecdotes from. Plus when I’m on tour it saves on accommodation…

“infuriated men all over the internet”. What stances, comments etc of yours have men found the most infuriating?  
It’s only a tiny subset of men who like to spend their alarmingly abundant spare time threatening women online. As far as I can tell their key hobbies include gaming, atheism, Frankie Boyle and violent pornography. They’re always super-angry when they find out that the atheist they agree with is also a feminist. Grrr.

And how about among women… do you find your comedy / stance / comments go down much better among women? Or have you irritated women too?
I’ve been on Katie Hopkins’ radio show and if you think that ended with a group hug you’d be very wrong.
It’s actually a widely accepted myth that sexism is something men do to women. Sexism pervades our culture and women can, of course, be sexist too. My audiences tend to be not far off 50:50, sometimes a few more women than men but I’m in Bristol on Mother’s Day and I think feminist comedy is the perfect treat for that so hopefully we’ll have some mums in!

Have you felt, over the last two to three years, what with #metoo, equal-pay campaigns at the BBC and elsewhere, etc, that a lot of the things you have been pushing for in your comedy have come into sharper focus…?
I’m WAITING for the #metoo movement to hit the UK comedy scene.
When you get two female comics in a green room (and that still happens rarely enough), we always have a story to share about a promoter or an act or an agent who’s been creepy, or worse, to them. I don’t feel that if I said the truth out loud people would believe and support me.
But this show does include some dark truths from my life. And silly sketches and one-liners and lots of jokes too. So I welcome these movements and any progress that does show up. I just think we’ve got a long way to go.

Tell us more about your take on atheism. Religion seems quite an easy thing to laugh at these days: do you think your take on it is distinctive?
I’m not really laughing at religion, I’m laughing at the fact that in 2019 people still take it seriously. THAT is pretty funny. And pretty worrying.

What is it like to be a woman in the spotlight? Different from being a man in the spotlight? How so, and how fast if at all is that changing?
I can only really speak about my own experience. I love my job. I wouldn’t do anything else on earth. There are always people raving about my work and about the impact I’ve had on them. The rage and the anger always comes from people who haven’t actually seen my work. They demand, in bad grammar and capital letters, on my YouTube channel to know why I hate men and I’m like “where have I ever said that?”.
And, at heart, I suspect that is the difference. Women are held to a different standard. Men are judged on “did they say something funny once?” and women on “did they say something that wasn’t funny once?”. We’re judged before we open our mouths, often told not to open out mouths.
Well bad luck, angry douchebros… I’m still gonna.

Kate Smurthwaite performs Clit Stirrer at the Alma Tavern & Theatre on Sunday, March 31. For more info, visit www.tickettailor.com/events/almatheatrecompany/227201

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