Judith Lucy: Never Ending Tori.

11 February 2002 | 1:01 am | Olivia Stewart
Originally Appeared In

The Flying Game.

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Judith Lucy’s I’m Going To Learn How To Fly runs at the Brisbane Powerhouse from February 12 to March 3.


"Hello, my name is _ and I'm a Fame addict." If you thought you'd never find another place where it was safe to 'fess up after Fame The Musical left town, help is at hand from an unexpected source.

Providing an informal therapy session for Fame Addicts Anonymous candidates is none other than Judith Lucy's latest show I'm Going To Learn How To Fly.

Come to think of it, given Judith has long been the patron saint of misfits, outcasts and the misfortunate it's probably not really any surprise.

And I can vouch that there is something special about bonding over the shared experience of being such a hardcore fan that you got your regular fix from Fame the TV show. (Jude did however did draw the line at Flashdance so I guess I'll have to keep that one to myself.)

The comedienne's sardonic schadenfreude approach has proved hilarious for us, cathartic for her, accentuating the fine line between tragedy and comedy (otherwise known as 'if you didn't laugh you'd cry').

But after plumbing the depths of dysfunction and disaster - including being adopted, her parents' death and paying for sex - Judith has done enough purging to feel comfortable giving style a workout over substance.

Yep, despite her closest encounter with celebrity sex being sleeping with the comedian who played Skippy on Family Ties, J Lu wants what J Lo's got.

Even if you didn't watch Fame it's now impossible to escape the impact of fame in the Warholian sense on our everyday lives. If you've ever bought NW's celebs without makeup issue, pored over pix of supermodels for hints of cellulite, pondered why glamourpusses want various body parts to resemble dirigibles, dreamed of swapping places with Jennifer Aniston - size zero and married to Brad Pitt - simply flicked through a tabloid mag at the doctor's surgery or just tuned-in to the voyeuristic thrills of reality television, Judith's got your number.

"Of course it's really just an excuse for me to just bitch about other celebrities," she reassures. "I start off with some bizarre Hollywood facts and work towards the most bizarre being that Tori Spelling is more famous than me - you know, the woman who once said, 'I'm just so proud of my butt’.”

"Which I think was a pretty remarkable thing to come out with really. But then of course you do ask yourself, 'What were Tori's options?”

Jude has however taken a step up the ladder of celebrity towards screen stardom herself, with a method acting stint in Mick Molloy's yet-to-be-released movie Crackerjack.

"I play a journalist named Nancy who's actually described as being world-weary, jaded and fond of a drink, so that was a real stretch," she deadpans. "Mick's obviously in it and John Clarke (The Games) and because it's about lawn bowls there's a lot of older Australian actors in it like Bill Hunter and they were just fantastic."

If you thought lawn bowls is dead boring you'd only be half right; in typical Judith fashion Murphy's Law intervened. "We had a ball,' she declares, "apart from the week we filmed in Corowa where they found a dead body.”

"It was the last day of shooting and this woman's body was found in the Murray River. And so we all had to give the Police the details and I unfortunately forgot to mention it to my boyfriend, so he was really thrilled when he heard this message on the answering machine: Good afternoon, Constable Baker wanting to have a conversation with Judith Lucy in connection with a murder."

Having seen most of Judith's previous shows I wouldn't have been doing my job if I hadn't asked whether said boyfriend was still on the scene. My five prior colleagues must have been just as conscientious.

"Oh now why is everyone asking me that question today! No, ah, no - I'm back on single funbus I have to say."

We just want you to be happy, I explain without facetiousness given the multiple whammies Judith has suffered in recent years.

"Oh well thank you very much but it's a very amicable split I must say. Put it this way I won't be getting a show out of that split."

More pressing issues are the nexus between the right handbag and career success revealed by In Style magazine.

"Really, I don't know how a magazine can honestly take itself remotely seriously and have articles in it like the most admired and influential handbags of the year. There was a line in that article that said a classically elegant handbag can hold your reputation in the workplace for years. So phew! Thank God you don't actually have to be good at your job.”

“Most people do seem to enjoy it," Jude acknowledges. "If you've ever had a bit of a gripe against celebrities then I think you will enjoy it in a cathartic way."