A woman from Perth is to perform a string of stand-up comedy shows about her relationship with alcohol at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe.
Lorraine Hoodless, 44, was raised in the Oakbank and Western Edge areas of the Fair City.
The former Oakbank primary and Perth high pupil has spent the past five years on the stand-up circuit.
Her material is unashamedly personal.
Last year her Fringe debut ‘Bumpy’ explored finding a soulmate, moving home, buying a house and planning a family.
This year she returns to Edinburgh with ‘Fuzzy Duck’, which explores her relationship with alcohol.
Lorraine is currently balancing her comedy career with a full-time job in the corporate world.
This feature explains how that happened.
Lorraine Hoodless ‘always wanted to perform’
Growing up in Greenock, Lorraine was encouraged to perform by her gran Mary Graham.
With her younger sister Gillian, who now lives in Australia, she would sing songs for her parents.
Her father, Dennis Hoodless, was a mobile DJ.
The family moved to Perth when Lorraine was eight years old.
She became a member of Perth Youth Theatre, where she had a part in Peach Child, a production with hundreds of kids from across the globe.
Additionally, she performed in the Christmas Carol and Dick Whittington in Perth Theatre as one of the children on stage.
Lorraine also did tap and ballet at Dance Bank in Burghmuir Road.
“I always wanted to perform in some shape or form,” she said.
But in her late teens reality hit.
“I got a job because I wanted to get money,” Lorraine said.
“Society conditions you to go down one route and to think practically about applying your skills to get a good job.”
Medical shock inspired comedy dream
As a teen, Lorraine worked in Perth in hospitality roles at Paco’s, Costa, Farmhouse Hotel, Plough Inn and Brennans.
She also had an interest in music and did after-school shifts at Concorde Music in Scott Street.
She transferred her job at Virgin Music Store to the branch in the Granite City when she began studying biology at Aberdeen university.
After graduation she went travelling then moved to London, where she settled into a corporate training position.
That might have been that, were it not for what she describes as a medical shock involving someone close to her.
“It made me sit up and think ‘why don’t I do stand-up comedy?'” Lorraine recalled.
“It is what I love doing so let’s go for it.”
She went on a taster session of a comedy course held by the Amused Moose, and “absorbed everything” to do with the genre.
“I tried to look at everything I could to understand how it was written,” said Lorraine, who now lives in New Brighton, near Liverpool.
Edinburgh Fringe debut on bumpy years
She became a part of the comedy circuit and was beginning to land spots in bigger clubs when the Covid lockdowns commenced in March 2020.
So she went online, staging the live ‘Cock-tagi-com’ – cocktails and comedy for the contagious age – every Friday on her Instagram page.
Lorraine said: “I would prepare a cocktail live and make comments about the week.
“It got up to 200 views every week, which was amazing.”
She finally made it to the Fringe last year with a 16-show run of Bumpy, a 45-minute insight into her “bumpy ride” of the past couple of years.
“Me and my partner decided to move out of London, renovate the house and planned for a family – it was all about that,” she said.
“Ultimately the running theme was that you are not really in control of a lot of things.
“You just have to run with it and see how it goes.”
‘My comedy is like having a chat over a glass of Prosecco’
Before she goes on stage, Lorraine says she tells her partner, Steven Lewis, of everything she plans to mention in relation to him.
She believes there is value in being open about personal experiences.
“We should talk more about things that are difficult from a mental health perspective,” Lorraine said.
“A personal story is about sharing and connecting, and giving people a different perspective on the world.
“My comedy is much more like having a chat over a glass of Prosecco.
“It is about adapting to a new scenario and giving people a light-hearted blend on something that is serious.”
Alcohol-themed show on Fringe return
The latest new scenario in Lorraine’s life – drinking less alcohol – will be explored in another 16-show session at the Fringe.
She will perform Fuzzy Duck at the Southsider from Saturday, August 5.
“The show is a bit of a reflection on drink being a part of my life,” Lorraine said.
“I am not an alcoholic and I am not stone cold sober.
“But it is a realisation that it was a big part of my life but not any more.
“It is a weird line to sit on.
“It is about how even drinking in moderation has its own evolution.
“It is just about me talking about booze and some funny stories around that.”
Perth support from youth theatre mentor
Lorraine has been supported in her comedy by family and friends from both Greenock and Perth.
One of the spectators at her Fringe show last year was Ken Alexander, her former mentor at Perth Youth Theatre.
In a perfect world she would be a full-time comic.
“At the moment it is an exciting and interesting hobby that I wish to progress and keep going,” Lorraine said.
“If opportunities arise to progress I would love to make it a full-time endeavour.
“I never had a fear of performance but I would always get excited beforehand.
“That’s only compounded as I have got more experience.
“The stage is my happy space.
“Nothing feels like a performance where you are really connecting with the audience.
“When you start doing stand-up the thing you worry about is not making people laugh.
“They call it dying on stage.
“Once it has happened a couple of times you realise no one died and it is not important.
“What is important is that you ask why did that not work?
“Did I not say it right or put the punchline in the wrong place?
“It is then a case of trying to maximise what you are saying.”
