Jo takes a hard look at love life

Shouldn’t marriages have an appraisal system built in, questions Jo Caulfield.
Jo Caulfield.Jo Caulfield.
Jo Caulfield.

Who knows, you might conclude that it’s a case of Better The Devil You Know, the title of the show Jo brings to Horsham’s Capitol on Saturday, November 9 (tickets 01403 750220).

Last year, Jo and her husband celebrated their tenth wedding anniversary.

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“We got married in New York for no other reason than that we didn’t see any reason that we wanted to book a service and give dinner to lots of other people.”

For Jo, it wasn’t about the service at all; it’s was all about the marriage, the thing that is supposed to continue.

“I am interested in the bit that goes on and is supposed to last.

“Actually getting married just took about three minutes.”

But their tenth anniversary set her thinking: “It entered my head that we maybe need an appraisal.

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“You wouldn’t go for ten years in a job without having an appraisal. It’s about the things my husband does, the good points and the bad points!

“In the end, I decided that I would keep him a bit longer.”

After years in London, Jo and her husband moved to Edinburgh around two and a half years ago – a great move, she says, even if the constant, all-day long flash-mobbing to Pretenders’ songs does get a bit tiring after a while.

“I just got fed up with London. I thought about Brighton, but I thought it would be really sunny, and I would just spend all day sitting on the beach doing nothing. And I didn’t want to end up driving round the M25 all the time, so we ended up in Edinburgh.”

And it’s nice to get out into the parts of the country where people are actually friendly – though she suggests that London unfriendliness is actually a courtesy of a kind.

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“London is such a busy, busy place that when you are all packed tightly together on the tube, it’s actually a politeness to give each other a bit of space!

“But I don’t really see myself as coming from anywhere. I am genuinely interested in places. I find it interesting to see different places.”

Plus of course she’s touring the country at a good time for comedians.

With huge TV exposure for comedy, there have never been so many comedians around, which of course creates competition, but also creates opportunities.

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“There are definitely more comedians around than ever, but I think it is because they are cheap.

“Theatres can’t afford to put on plays with four or five people in. Comedians are basically one person and a microphone!”

Jo appears regularly on Mock The Week and Have I Got News For You and has her own comedy series on Radio 4. Recently she been nominated as ‘the best female stand-up in the country’ (Chortle.co.uk) and named ‘one of the top 100 comedians’ (Channel4).

Jo was Graham Norton’s head writer for all five seasons of the BAFTA-winning So Graham Norton.

Radio shows include The News Quiz, Armando Iannucci’s Charm Offensive and The Steve Wright Show as well as her own critically-acclaimed Radio 4 comedy show, It’s That Jo Caulfield Again.