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Francesca performs a storming set on BBC3's 'RUSSELL HOWARD'S GOOD NEWS': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v = pYqcql8wSh0
Francesca launches WOW Petition in protest of the frightening government cuts which will target disabled people and their carers. 100, 000 signatures needed... Please sign ! http://wowpetition.com/
Francesca takes part in a debate on the legacy of the Paralympics hosted by Jon Snow live on Channel Four News. http://blogs.channel4.com/channel - 4 - news - live-blog
Francesca guests on Radio 4's 'THE NEWS QUIZ' hosted by Sandi Toksvig and featuring Jeremy Hardy, Susan Calman and Hugo Rifkind. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00zhqnp
Francesca appears on BBC3's 'FREE SPEECH', which is a live debate show. She is voted the most popular guest by the public. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01dbmwh/profiles/francesca-martinez
Francesca's article on welfare cuts and government hypocrisy appears in the Independent On Sunday. http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/
Francesca debates government cuts live on BBC2's 'Newsnight'. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0HwIzZNOOw
Francesca investigates Disability Hate Crime and the Welfare cuts in ITV1's 'Tonight' documentary on 23rd August at 7.30pm. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChyeNJ4qLn4
Francesca kicks off a 50-date UK tour of her award-winning show, 'WHAT THE **** IS NORMAL?!' Check dates in the Live Dates section of this website!
Francesca does four shows at The Tricycle Theatre in London as part of her UK Tour. With Special Guests, Richard Herring, Robin Ince, Markus Birdman and Jen Brister. http://www.standard.co.uk/arts/comedy/francesca-martinez-tricycle--review-7830716.html
Francesca takes part two benefits at London's Hammersmith Apollo - 'Scope's Big Comedy Night' hosted by Ben Elton, and 'Laugh Or The Polar Bear Gets It' for Friends Of The Earth.
Francesca records a podcast with Richard Herring and Jonathan Ross at the Leceister Square Theatre. Click the link below and skip to 44.48 for her guest appearance... http://www.comedy.co.uk/podcasts/richard_herring_l
Francesca records an hour-long interview as part of Richard Herring's Leceister Square Theatre Podcasts: http://www.comedy.co.uk/podcasts/richard_herring_lst_podcast/episode_3_francesca_martinez/
Francesca makes a memorable appearance on top Irish chat-show, The Saturday Night Show! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpOW98_Jbbg
Francesca sells out her Melbourne Comedy Festival run and receives five-star reviews: http://tinyurl.com/awdsaz4
Francesca guests on popular Australian day-time talk show 'THE CIRCLE'.
Francesca guests on ABC 1's hit TV talk show 'ADAM HILLS IN GORDON STREET TONIGHT': http://www.abc.net.au/tv/adamhillsIGST/stories/s34
Francesca completes a 50-date tour of Australia, and is nominated for Best Comedy at the Perth Fringe Award. http://www.comedybeastmagazine.com/francescamartinezmicf2012.html
Francesca makes a much talked about appearance on BBC1's THIS WEEK, debating the disability cuts with Andrew Neil and Michael Portillo. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duNk9Z33u7A
Francesca take part in Robin Ince's Christmas 'Godless' show at The Bloomsbury Theatre:
Francesca previews her new solo show, ‘WHAT THE **** IS NORMAL?!’ on a 62-date tour of Australia, Singapore and Malaysia.
Francesca appears on Australian talk-show, ‘STUDIO A’ and is the subject of an in-depth interview for cable television’s ‘INSPIRATION’ series.
Francesca conducts comedy workshops for new writers and performers of all abilities in Sydney and Melbourne which are presented by the British Council and the Melbourne Comedy Festival.
Francesca takes her new show to the Edinburgh Fringe where she receives rave reviews and wins a Fringe Media Network Award.
Francesca delivers talks on equality and diversity for companies and colleges across the country.
Francesca is the special guest on Radio 4’s ‘RICHARD HERRING’S OBJECTIVE’ which receives a huge public response and is chosen for Radio 4’s ‘PICK OF THE WEEK’
Francesca delivers a presentation to young global Changemakers, a group of 60 young activists from 49 countries around the world, who are brought together by the British Council.
Francesca makes a storming appearance at a sold-out Hammersmith Apollo as part of a benefit for Friends of the Earth alonside Greg Davies and Tim Minchin.
Francesca hosts the annual Cerebra Childrens Awards at a glittering ceremony.
Francesca takes part in the inaugaral First Direct Dialogue Festival in London.
Francesca curates and hosts the ‘SERIOUSLY FUNNY’ event at London’s Southbank Centre. This sold-out event featured taboo-busting comedians, Jeremy Hardy and Andy Zaltzman.
Francesca becomes a weekly contributor to Radio Five Live’s post-Question Time programme.
Francesca guests on the BBC Ouch New Year Special podcast.
Francesca takes part in Robin Ince’s ‘Nine Lessons and Carols for Godless People’ at a sold-out Bloomsbury Theatre alongside Richard Herring, Josie Long and Stewart Lee.
Francesca is commissioned to write another episode of her BBC sitcom series.
Francesca tours Australia for two months, with shows in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide, and receives a special commendation for Best Established Comedian at the Adelaide Fringe Awards.
Francesca appears on Radio Four’s Word Of Mouth presented by Michael Rosen.
Francesca is invited to be a regular guest on Radio Four’s Broadcasting House after successful appearances alongside Jon Snow, Michael Portillo and Robert Fisk.
Francesca appears on Radio 4’s Loose Ends with Emma Freud, Clive Anderson and Ardal O’Hanlon.
Francesca is one of the main contributors in the BBC2 documentary ‘Are You Having A Laugh’ which looks at the portrayal of disability on televison.
Francesca is commissioned to write a comedy piece entitled “If I Were The World’s First Wobbly Leader” as part of the King’s Place Festival.
Francesca guests on Australia’s top panel show ‘Spicks And Specks’ with Adam Hills and Ross Noble.
Francesca continues to perform key note speeches at conferences, and after-dinner talks around the country.
Francesca develops a TV documentary with the producers of Channel Four’s ‘Cast Offs’. ‘WHAT THE HELL IS NORMAL?!’ will see her searching for a normal person-- she’s never met one. Have you?
Francesca headlines this year’s Liberty Festival in Trafalgar Square.
Francesca performs her solo show in New York in October at the famous UCB Theatre, and also performs at top venue 92Y including shows with Flight Of The Conchord star, Kristin Schaal.
Francesca becomes a monthly paper reviewer on BBC TV News 24.
Francesca continues to run mixed ability comedy workshops at theatres both here and abroad.
Francesca records a short film for Channel Four on the song ‘Jerusalem’.
Francesca will feature alongside Catherine Tate, Jon Culshaw and others in the Red Nose Campaign 2011.
Francesca writes and stars in a mini sitcom pilot which is produced by Charlie Hanson (‘EXTRAS’).
Francesca is commissioned by the BBC to write another episode of her sitcom.
Francesca performs to 60 Global Changemakers for the British Council.
Francesca records her stand-up set for BBC Radio 4’s ‘Four Stands-Up’.
Francesca co-presents the two-hour ‘World Have Your Say’ show for the BBC World Service.
Francesca takes part in a BBC documentary on ‘EXTRAS’ alongside Ben Stiller, Kate Winslet and Ian McKellen.
Francesca hosts an event for the Booktrust at the London Book Fair.
Francesca performs at the War On Want Benefit at the Shepherds Bush Empire with Mark Thomas.
Francesca hosts the launch of the BBC’s Disabled Actors and Performers Directory.
Francesca performs four shows on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood.
Francesca becomes a patron of the Pegasus Theatre, childrens’ charity, Building For The Future and Baby LifeLine.
Francesca organizes a benefit night for Building For The Future at the Reading Concert Hall which is hosted by Chris Addison and features Phil Nichol, Milton Jones and Rhod Gilbert.
Francesca performs to 3000 people at London’s Hammersmith Apollo as part of LiveStock alongside Jimmy Carr, Russell Howard and Stephen Merchant.
Francesca performs at the inaugural Cultural Diversity Awards Dinner at Channel 4 hosted by Alan Carr.
Francesca is invited to perform and co-devise a session on challenging attitudes to difference at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. She also speaks at sessions on Taboos and Diversity in Society alongside Oscar Winner Emma Thompson.
In February, Francesca does a three-week Off-West-End London run at the wonderful Hackney Empire Studio Theatre of FRANCESCA MARTINEZ IN DEEP.
Francesca becomes a patron for the childrens’ charity, Building For The Future.
Francesca is invited by London Mayor, Ken Livingstone, to be an Olympic Torch Bearer on April 6th when the Torch passes through London en-route to the games in Beijing this Summer.
Francesca turns down her role as Olympic Torchbearer in support of Tibet live on Channel 4 News with Jon Snow.
Francesca is invited to meet HH Dalai Lama.
Francesca appears in the new government TV campaign to promote reading alongside other comedians including Graham Norton, Ronnie Corbett and Jo Brand.
Francesca is invited by Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, to Number 10 Downing Street for the launch of the National Reading Campaign.
Francesca is one of the British comics invited to perform at the Montreal Just For Laughs showcase at the Comedy Store in London.
Francesca is asked to be a Cultural Olympiad for London 2012.
Francesca is invited to make the closing speech at the BBC World Service conference on the power of global conversation.
Francesca is invited to peform at The Women Of The World Festival in Cape Town.
Francesca’s stand-up show is recorded live in Dublin and broadcast in full on the national radio station, RTE1.
Francesca appears on top Irish chat-show, ’The Cafe’. Watch it on YouTube.
Francesca finishes her 33-date UK tour. of FRANCESCA MARTINEZ IN DEEP, receiving glowing reviews across the country.
Francesca becomes a regular guest on BBC Radio 4’s Broadcasting House.
Francesca performs to over 3000 People at the Bournemouth International Centre!
Francesca is commissioned by the BBC to write another episode of her TV comedy series project.
Francesca performs at a benefit for Miriam Hyman, a victim in the 7/7 London bombings, at London’s Comedy Store.
Francesca’s new stand-up show, FRANCESCA MARTINEZ IN DEEP, premiers at The Edinburgh Festival! The show receives critical acclaim, an audience award nomination and is a hit with audiences at The Stand Comedy Club.
Francesca is a ’talking head’ on ’My Body Hell’ on Channel 5 throughout September and October.
Francesca embarks on a 33-date UK tour of FRANCESCA MARTINEZ IN DEEP. Dates from October – July 2008.
FRANCESCA performs a week of shows for her first ever Off-West-End London run at The Tricycle Theatre.
Francesca performs to Young Global Leaders, part of the World Economic Forum, at London’s Canary Wharf.
Francesca is the subject of an Irish radio programme which is part of the series, ‘Outside The Box’ (RTE1) – it is an-depth interview about her life and career.
Francesca is commissioned to write a comedy pilot for the BBC.
Francesca performs at Dublin Castle at the televised “02 The Ability Awards 2006” attended by Irish Prime Minister, Bertie Aherne.
Francesca’s episode of ‘Extras’ is nominated for a Banff World Television Festival Award for Best Comedy along with ‘Desperate Housewives’.
Francesca becomes a Global Angels Ambassador and performs at a charity event on May 12th with Daniel and Natasha Bedingfield and others.
Francesca appears in ‘A History Of Offensive Humour’ on Channel 4 in June.
Francesca is nominated in Channel 4’s ‘Top 100 Stand-Ups’ poll and appears in ‘The World’s Greatest Stand-Ups’ on Channel 4 this Autumn.
June - Francesca’s episode of ’Extras’ wins a Banff World Television Award for Best Comedy.
Francesca stars in ‘Extras’ (BBC2 & HBO) with Ricky Gervais and Kate Winslet.
Francesca performs at Dublin Castle at the televised ‘O2 The Ability Awards 2005’ (RTE1) which is attended by Irish Prime Minister, Bertie Aherne.
Francesca is the subject of Irish Prime-time TV documentary ‘Three 60’ (RTE1)
Francesca is nominated for the ‘UK’s Motivator Of The Year’ Award.
Francesca appears in ‘Politically Incorrect’ (Sky One).
Francesca organises a benefit show at The Hackney Empire with Johnny Vegas, Lee Mack and Al Murray.
Francesca performs her solo show at UK venues
Francesca headlines at UK venues on the Comedy Network tour.
Francesca presents a two-part BBC Radio 4 documentary entitled ‘Should We Be Laughing?’.
Francesca stars in ‘ A Thing Called Love’ (BBC1) opposite Paul Nichols.
Francesca appears in ‘The Top Ten Commandments’ (Channel 4).
Francesca performs in Trafalgar Square as part of the International Day Of Disability celebrations.
Francesca performs at London’s Dorchester Hotel at a gala event with speeches by Cherie Blair andNelson Mandela.
Francesca is invited to Number 11 Downing Street for a reception hosted by Chancellor Gordon Brown for the 25th Anniversary of the charity, Contact A Family, of which Francesca is a patron.
Francesca tours I’MPERFECT at UK venues.
Francesca guests on ‘The Frank Skinner Show’ (ITV1).
Francesca interviews Ricky Gervais, Frank Skinner and Daniel Bedingfield for a Channel 4 pilot chatshow.
Francesca is voted one of ‘Britain’s 50 Funniest Comedians’ in The Observer.
Francesca is commissioned by the National Theatre to write and perform a half-hour short story.
Francesca stars as a guest lead in ‘Holby City’ (BBC1).
Francesca stars as a guest lead in ‘Doctors’ (BBC1).
Francesca hosts three ‘Creative Courage’ workshops at the Bargehouse in London.
Francesca is the only international female comedian to be invited to perform her solo show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
Francesca is interviewed on prime-time Australian TV news show, ‘Health Dimensions’ (ABC).
Francesca performs stand-up on the Australian TV shows ‘Comedy Gala’ (10) and ‘Upfront’ (10).
Francesca tours I’MPERFECT around the UK.
Francesca performs to government ministers at the launch of the European Year of Disabled People.
Francesca becomes a patron of the charity Disability Equality in Education.
Francesca performs her 100% sell-out debut solo-show at the Edinburgh Festival.
Francesca performs at Dublin Castle with Heather McCartney and Caroline Casey at an event for the Aisling Foundation.
Francesca performs at the International Day Of Disability Awards in Ottawa, Canada.
Francesca performs at Yuk Yuk’s, Canada’s largest comedy Club.
Francesca performs in ‘Funny Women’, a charity gala at the Palace Theatre in London’s West End.
Francesca is a guest on ‘Gloria Hunniford’s Open House’ (Channel 5).
Francesca headlines a UK tour with the Comedy Network.
Francesca performs at the Leicester Comedy Festival.
Francesca performs at the Brighton Comedy Festival.
Francesca writes for the BBC disability website ‘OUCH!’
Francesca performs on Broadway, New York.
Francesca performs at the world-famous Montreal ‘Just For Laughs’ Comedy Festival with Sean Lock and Johnny Vegas.
Francesca stars in the ‘Comedy Zone’ at the Edinburgh Festival.
Francesca performs at The Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
Francesca performs stand-up on Australian TV shows ‘Raw Comedy’ (10) and ‘Upfront’ (10).
Francesca performs in Connecticut, USA.
Francesca is commissioned to write a sitcom episode by Channel 4.
Francesca guests on ‘Esther’ (BBC2).
Francesca tours the UK with the Comedy Network.
Francesca writes and performs material for a children’s educational TV series on BBC2.
Francesca is interviewed on news show, ‘London Today’ (ITV1).
Francesca’s appearance at London’s Comedy Store is the subject of a short film made for ‘Newsroom SouthEast’ (BBC1).
Francesca wins the prestigious ‘The Daily Telegraph Open Mic Award 2000’ for Best New Comedian in the UK at the Edinburgh Festival. She is the first female comic to win it.
Francesca is commended in the final of The Hackney Empire New Act Of The Year competition.
Francesca is a finalist in Channel 4’s ‘So You Think You’re Funny?’ competition.
Francesca performs stand-up and is interviewed on ‘Barrymore’ (ITV1).
Francesca and her comedy are the subjects of a thirty-minute Radio 4 interview series, ‘No Tragedy, No Triumph’.
Francesca performs regularly at the UK’s top comedy venues.
Francesca stars in the hit children’s drama ‘Grange Hill’ on BBC1 for 5 series. She plays ‘Rachel Burns’ in over 60 episodes between 1994 and 1999, and was the show’s first disabled main character. The show was nominated for many awards and won a BAFTA during these years.
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“The fastest-rising female comic
in the country”
The Observer
“Has changed the face of
British Comedy”
The Sunday Times
“Exceptional wit. Her star quality is breathtaking”
The Daily Telegraph
“Excellent. Sharp, hard-hitting and very funny”
Time Out
“A five-star act”
The Guardian Guide
“Hilarious!”
bbc.co.uk
“A comic sensation”
The Daily Mirror
“The electricity she generated through her act was near palpable. An electrifying act. Stand-up with extra bite”
The Independent
“She may be wobbly but never the jokes.The sweetest face in thebusiness”
The Stage
“Inspiring. A winning combination of charm and talent”
The Evening Standard
“A challenging and hilarious act. She is intelligent, insightful, immensely likeable and charmingly dangerous”
The Sunday Herald * * * *
“Absolutely hilarious you dont’t want it to end”
Paramound Comedy * * * * *
“Perfect stand-up, Brilliant and beautiful”
The Daily Mail * * * *
“Very funny. Her comic timing is perfect”
Metrol * * * *
“She is enormously charismastic...Absolutely hilarious”
Standup.com * * *
“Simply very, very funny”
The List * * * *
“Beautiful”
The Sunday Times
“It is refreshing to see acomedian with convictionsespecially one who has so much charm and energy”
The Guardian * * * *
“Wise and witty. She is oneof the most self-assuredcomedians on the circuit”
The Scotsman * * * *
“Gut-wrenching
laughter - an hour of
her time is indeed a
privilege”
The Observer
“Martinez is extraordinarily talented. Her show is agem in the festival line-up.Brilliant”
ComedyLive Melbourne
“Confronting, honest, cutting, provocative, edgy and very, very funny. An inspired performer”
Beat Magazine Australia
“Impressive comic timing... Clever andchallenging”
The Weekend Australian
“She has a wicked wit and a self-confident charm. It’s agreat show, both perceptive and funny”
Stage Left Melbourne
“Martinez cleverly upended perceptions”
The Sydney Morning Herald
“Shockingly funny.Go and see for yourself”
Inpress Magazine
“Fabulously hilarious”
The Irish Times
“Tremendously engaging... an irresistibly charming performer. She has mastered the two-liner leading a willing audience as though she’d got them on a leash. She had me in the palm of her wobbly hand. Go see her now”
National Students Magazine *****
“A fast-paced show with lots of laughs. No taboo is left intact as she cracks joke after joke... Hilarious”
Three Weeks ****
“Her ability to properly combine politics and comedy was first class and rich with gags. She is confident and sharp – her show was up to date, thought providing and very, very funny
Scotsgay ****
“Highly accomplished. Tackles taboos and makes you laugh like no one else can. Radiant, challenging and above all, very funny”
Time Out
“Whereas her cp might once have made her a novelty, Martinez has now proven she’s just actually very good at making people laugh”
Metro
“Calls herself a wobbly comic but, on this evidence, her success is built on firm foundations” ”
Guardian
“Tackles serious points with conviction and still rings belly laughs”
Fest ****
“Very funny... Inspiring”
List
“Martinez is selling out fast so get a ticket as soon as possible or miss out” ”
One4review ****
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So, what have you been up to lately?
Well, I’m just starting to enjoy working again, after having to take it easy
when I was diagnosed with burn-out at the beginning of 2004. The doctor
ordered me to take 6 months off work - it was a real shock! I had no idea
that it would take that long for me to feel better, but my energy is only
just returning now so it has been a slow recovery.
Why do you think you got burn-out?
Basically, I did what a lot of people do - I worked too much and I
didn’t take enough breaks. If you’re a performer and you’re being
offered work, it’s very hard to say no because you feel that these
opportunities won’t last forever. The temptation is to try and enjoy
all the exciting work offers and make every chance count. But the
fatigue crept up on me very slowly - I began to feel tired but still
able to do everything I wanted to, and then I reached a point where
it wasn’t a choice anymore - I just had to stop! I finally stopped when
I began not enjoying my shows. I knew that there was an underlying
reason because I love comedy. It’s always been so important to me to
love what I do that I knew I had to take a break and recharge. It
worked because I am enjoying comedy more than ever now and feel
very inspired to challenge myself and grow as a person and a comic.
Was it frustrating having to take it easy for 2 years?
At first I was worried as I thought that it would be bad for me not to
keep working and performing. I’d got used to ignoring my feelings, and
I didn’t want to just disappear from the comedy scene and lose the
things I had worked so hard for! You know, there are so many great comedians in this country, all working so hard at their craft that the thought of spending time at home in my pyjamas wasn’t particularly enticing! But as soon as I’d made the decision to take time out - I knew it was the right one. I realised that I really couldn’t cheat the recovery process and get a ‘quick-fix’. It’s a valuable lesson and my priority now is to get the right balance in my life and put health first. I never want to be without energy again - you don’t realise how precious it is until it has gone! Now, whenever anyone tells me they’re tired, I always urge them quite forcefully to be careful and take a break!
What did you do during your time off?
I did the odd live show and other bits for TV and radio, and ‘Extras’,
of course, but I mostly caught up on all the things that don’t get
done when you’re busy - reading, thinking, falling in love! I must
have read so many books in that time! I’ve always been such a
book-worm - I learnt to read before I could walk - I wasn’t a genius,
I just couldn’t walk until I was three! When I was younger I was so
obsessed with Enid Blyton, that I told my parents I wanted to be
buried in a glass coffin with all her books when I died! So it was great
to rediscover my passion for books and have the time to read for sheer
pleasure. I also travelled in Europe which was fantastic. I always
think travelling helps push you out of your comfort zone which is so
important to help keep an open mind and heart. In many ways it has
been a real learning period for me and not just a static resting time. I
always used work to run away from my problems, and having to rest
meant I couldn’t do that! I was forced to think about the stuff that you
tend to push to the back of your mind.
One of your reviews says ‘she so doesn’t have any hang-ups’ - is this untrue
then?
Of course it is! Everyone does, and I’m no different. One of my hang-ups was
not allowing myself to show any of my hang-ups! Because of needing extra
help in some areas, I tried to be Superwoman in others! That contributed
to my burn-out - always feeling that I had to prove myself to people and never
feeling that I would be accepted for just being me. I put a huge amount of
pressure on myself and that’s one of the things I want to change. People think
if you do stand-up then you must be very confident, and I am - in my ability -
but in other areas I have room for improvement! I think having cerebal
palsy has made me very strong and determined in some ways but also a
bit insecure in others. In the last few years I have made some really
crappy life choices because I felt unable to demand better for
myself! I learnt a lot from my last serious relationship - I was in love and
my broken heart made me finally realise that I needed to value myself more! My burn-out only started improving when I stopped making decisions
which ended up kicking me in the stomach! I know it’s all part of life,
but I’m a big believer in working on yourself and learning from your
mistakes. So although the last two years have been quiet professionally,
I have had a chance to deal with all the stuff that is so difficult to deal
with when you’re flying round the world! It’s not easy to look deeply
at your faults but it has been worth it as I’m so much happier now. I’m
raring to get back to stand-up and to express myself in new ways!
You say it has been a quiet two years work-wise, but you did ‘Extras’...
Yes. I had to drag myself out of my pyjamas for that one! I was knackered
but not THAT knackered! It was a fab experience and I was so honoured
that Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant wrote the part especially for me.
I’m really pleased that Ricky and Stephen weren’t afraid to write comedy
around my disability - that hasn’t really been done before in a mainstream
comedy show. Some journalists asked me whether it was offensive or not -
but to me, to say disability should be off limits in comedy, is the ultimate
patronising attitude. It’s ridiculous to think that disabled people are so
delicate that they can’t laugh at themselves. The truth is there is a lot
of comedic potential in disability - certainly in my own life - and I hope
that it can be explored more. I think comedy is great at demystifying taboos
so I hope we reach a point where we can all feel comfortable laughing at
a funny show whether it has a disabled character or not! I think that
motivation is the key thing - the joke in ‘Extras’ was on Ricky and
Kate Winslet, and it wasn’t, ‘let’s laugh at Francesca’s walking’. That
wouldn’t interest me, but I’m all for making people laugh at
awkward situations. I love cringe comedy! I think ‘The Office’ and ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ are the best shows ever, so I was flattered to
show up funny preconceptions and be part of Ricky’s brand of ‘cringe’
humour! And the public seem to have got the joke which is great - I’ve
had nothing but positive feedback.
And now you’re working on your own BBC TV comedy pilot?
Yes, I’m very excited. It has been my dream for years to write and act
in my own comedy series so I really hope it comes to fruition. Although
I’ve been acting since I was 14, ‘Extras’ was my first comedy part. I’ve
tended to be offered very melodramatic parts in ‘Holby City’ and ‘Doctors’ - you know, ‘my mum’s having a heart attack on my wedding
day and I’m having quadruplets’ kind of thing. I must have a ‘patient’
vibe about me! So ‘Extras’ just made me even more hungry to try and
get my own comedy idea together. In the end, I based it on my real life
experiences because that’s what I know best! I always think comedy which is
rooted in reality is more powerful and universal. The fact that my character
has a disability is only one aspect of her and I’m passionate about making
her a fully-rounded person that millions can identify with and connect with.
She has no more or less struggles than the other characters, and I really hope
the universality of the situations, fears and hopes that we all face, will allow
the audience to enter a familiar world with a unique twist on it. Above all, I
want it to be very entertaining and a great comedy show! The writing is so
important, so getting the script right is the priority at the moment.
What stage are you at with the project?
Well, after doing ‘Extras’, I met with the BBC and pitched them the idea.
Obviously, having Ricky’s and Stephen’s support was invaluable, and
also showed that there is a lot of untapped comedy surrounding any
character played by me. We’ve got a great producer on board and
he’s been totally in tune with the project. I think it would be really
brilliant if we could get a project like this off the ground - it would
show that the BBC is willing to be a trailblazer in this area. I’ve
always felt that because of my disability, I’ve had to work double as
hard because I was so aware that I may be dismissed as just a
one-trick-pony - so I hope to get the chance to prove my talent by
writing and starring in a mainstream TV show. At the moment, we’re
waiting to see if we get to make it. So, all my fingers are crossed!
Getting anything on TV is such a difficult process but each time you get
a chance, you put your heart and soul into it and hope for the best!
And what about stand-up?
I’m doing shows again which is great as I’ve really missed doing
stand-up! It’s exciting because I’ve got so many new ideas to work on
after having this time off so I’m looking forward to expressing them.
I‘ve started writing a new solo show which is always a challenge but also
incredibly rewarding as the sky is the limit! Having time off work meant
I had loads of different experiences (both good and bad!), did lots of
reading and research, travelled around Europe and saw other cultures - and
that’s all filled me up creatively so there is so much I want to talk about...
like the challenges life throws at you and the stuff which you only become
aware of when you have time to read all day! Stand-up is very satisfying
because there’s always so much to learn that it can’t get boring. It’s a
great constant - when you wait for months to see if a TV project comes
off or if you get an acting role - it’s always there to keep you sane. I
feel so lucky to do something I love.
Do you feel a pressure not to talk about disability as it may
pigeon-hole you?
As you can imagine,I get asked that a lot! I’ve always said that I
don’t talk about ‘disability’ - that term means a million different
things and I have no experience of 999,999 of them! Like most
stand-ups, I talk about my life and views, both of which are affected
by my unique make-up. So when I do talk about ‘it’, I hope it’s seen
in the context of my life experiences which I can’t change and which
I want to express. I’m not interested in making jokes about my walking
but rather about people’s attitudes and the perceptions we have of
each other. I’m also aware that there is a lot of prejudice and fear that
still surrounds this area so if I can explore it in an entertaining way,
then perhaps it will help people accept it more as just another part of
humanity. Comedy is a wonderful Trojan horse - if you make people
laugh then you can say pretty much anything. It’s far more rewarding to
make people think than laugh! And I think that’s what the best art does.
What would you like to achieve in the future?
I’m not a big planner because I like to see what direction life takes me in.
Obviously, it would be a dream come true if I had the chance to make my
own series but whether that happens is largely beyond my control! I don’t
want my happiness to rely on external events, so I hope I am able to
carry on doing what I love. I enjoy the freedom of stand-up so much - the
writing and performing is all down to me so it’s a very personal and valuable
part of my life. In terms of what makes me happy - the most important thing
to me is a sense of freedom. I don’t think of success in terms of money or
material wealth or even status - that’s just padding. To me, success is getting
up each day, doing something I love and having the health to do it - if it’s
a sunny day, I can walk in the park and I feel so lucky to be able to do
that. I think when you really love what you do, then you don’t define
it as ‘work’ - it’s just part of you. I happen to believe that stand-up
can be very important to society - it’s a place where free speech
still exists, where the status quo is challenged, where difficult
subjects are discussed and where individuals can dig deeper into
accepted beliefs and question them - and, of course, have a bloody
good laugh at the end of a hard day’s work! Society says that slavery
has been abolished but the system we live in traps people into working
all hours so they can pay for their kids, bills, mortgage, study, loans -
and so it’s about just surviving. My desires are simple - to keep doing
what I love, keep my sense of wonder about life, fall in love with a
good guy, and not be caught up on the treadmill! I’d rather be frugal
all my life! I grew up in a family where I was encouraged to think for myself
from a very young age and I think that has made me passionate about trying to produce work which tries to encourage people to think for themselves too –
because, ultimately, what we think is the only thing we really have total control over! My parents always supported me in following my dreams and they taught me that to try and create a reality around being happy was the most important thing to work for. Sometimes the world we live in makes it hard to remember that simple fact. I think that people truly know that happiness does not come from looking a certain way or owning the ‘right’ gear, but it can be confusing when those messages are shoved in our faces 12 hours a day! I feel if you can see through that consumerism rubbish, then that leaves you in a much happier place. My brother and I have both been given the confidence to choose vocations that we love, rather than because they were the ‘sensible’ choice. We both feel extremely grateful to our parents and we have always seen them as great friends which I think is brilliant! I think that encouraging anyone to pursue happiness is a precious thing, and that is what I want to do when I have kids! In my work, I really need to believe strongly that I’m doing something valuable with my time and energy. If I can give people a voice who don’t have one, or inspire one person to question society’s values and become happier - I’ll be happy! Throw in a ‘24’ DVD boxset and that’ll be heaven!
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Top of her class
From her hectic schooldays at Grange Hill, Francesca Martinez has graduated to become one of the top comedians of her generation. Elizabeth Choppin talks to her before her biggest challenge yet
Francesca Martinez is having a good decade. At the tender age of 26 she has accomplished more than most people in a lifetime. With a forthcoming spot in Extras, Ricky Gervais’ new BBC comedy, she has officially entered the big league - and it does not look like she will be leaving any time soon.
Since her "accidental" entrance to the comedy world - she was coerced into a stand-up class while researching an acting part - she has appeared on ITV’s Frank Skinner Show, toured with the Comedy Network and most notably, mopped up the Daily Telegraph Open Mike award.
Her debut act at the Edinburgh Festival, I’mperfect, like much of her material so far, has focused on life with cerebral palsy and the situations she stumbles into - such as the terrifying prospect of soup or spaghetti on a first date.
Though some people have labelled her a "disability comedian" she is quick to argue she has never viewed herself as just that.
"It’s something I’m battling against. I just see myself as someone with a different set of cans and can’ts. I can’t run and I can’t drink through a straw, but I can stand on stage and tell jokes - I can do things that other people can’t do."
To illustrate this point, part of her act is to pick someone out of the crowd and ask what they can’t do. If the response is "I can’t play golf," she exclaims: "Oh my God! Were you born like that? How do you cope?"
"When I talk about disability, as people like to call it, I don’t see it as talking about an ’issue’. I see it as my life. The fact is, it’s going to come up as something which has informed and shaped who I am. I do make an effort to talk about it because unfortunately society doesn’t deal with it very well. There is a lot of fear - a lot of prejudice. Anyone in the public eye, especially comedians, should try to confront and challenge stereotypes."
But since she was a little girl, Francesca knew she wanted to act. Her first break came with a five-year stint on BBC1’s Grange Hill as Rachel Burns, but after it ended she found herself without work. To prepare for a possible movie role, she was asked to do some comedy training and signed up on a local course. The rest is history.
It is particularly fortunate she has caught the eye of one of her idols, Ricky Gervais, though politically correct people in the disability world might disagree.
"His whole humour up until now has been based on a person who says the wrong thing. He tries to push the envelope in every direction. He’s not picking on one subject or one group of people - it’s everybody and everything."
She resents being told that she and Ricky shouldn’t make jokes about the comedic side of disability.
"Disabled people aren’t this weak group of people who are going to start crying. If we want true equality it means we see the comedic side of things. Plus, Ricky’s characters always have people thinking, ’What an idiot’. He’s not glorifying a bad attitude - he’s taking the mickey out of it and showing it up."
In her free time Francesca is developing a new act that will be ready to perform and tour in the autumn. It will be different from past material - more personal, she says, concentrating more on her vulnerability. She is not some sort of "disability superwoman", she says.
"One way CP has affected me is that I have felt I had to be funnier, nicer, kinder, stronger than everybody else to make up for my physical weaknesses. It is taking me a long time to realise I can have bad days too.’"
On the tail of the publicity for Extras, Francesca says her next ideal job would be a in sitcom. But with so much success this early, where does a girl go next?
"I’ve kind of let things happen. My life has always been unpredictable and that’s the way I like it. But being on set with Ricky Gervais… it doesn’t get much better than that. If you had asked me who in the whole world I would like to work with on screen, I’d have said Ricky and George Clooney." One down and one to go then. Watch out George.
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Francesca Martinez doesn’t do things by halves. In the middle of filming the new Ricky Gervais comedy, Extras, she is doing stand-up shows at the Hackney Empire, writing her next one-hour comedy show for this summer’s Edinburgh Festival, and is set to do a charity fundraiser for Disability Equality in Education on 20 March alongside Johnny Vegas.
Just three months into her come-back year - she took 2004 off because of exhaustion - you could be excused for thinking the 26-year-old is at risk of burn-out again.
"It might seem a bit keen, writing my routine for Edinburgh already," she acknowledges, "but really, it takes a long time to prepare… It’s not like theatre - you can’t rehearse in a closed environment. You’ve got to preview what you’ve written to a live audience, then edit it, then preview again. No matter how funny you think what you’ve written is, it’s not until you try it in front of an audience that you find out whether it’s s**t or not."
Her system for testing material, she says, is to book small venues first, and admit to the audience that she’s only just written the material, so it might be "rubbish". After watching her perform at an all-women stand-up show hosted by Jo Brand last week, that’s hard to imagine. Martinez is now so comfortable in her routine about policemen thinking she’s drunk because of her "wobbly" walk, and school kids taking the mick out of her in the street, that she seems like an old hand.
But resting on her laurels - and on her ’disability gags’ - was a criticism levelled against her last Edinburgh show, I’mperfect, and, this year, she’s keen to show that there’s more to her. "My next show is going to be more about what’s happening in the world today. It’s mixing the personal and the political. I really want to explore a wide variety of topics: the state our world is in, the state of democracy, the war in Iraq ... But really, I’ve always found it funny when people say I do comedy about disability - the fact is, I’ve only ever talked about my life! I’ve got cerebral palsy, so that affects my life. I never mention other disabled people at all."
It might upset some of the disability rights activists, who would rather see disabled comedians use their platform to make a point about discrimination, but then so might Martinez’s collaboration with Ricky Gervais. The star of The Office is well-known for making the kind of jokes about disabled people on his XFM radio show that send campaigners reeling. "He’s very naughty, isn’t he," she muses. "But then, Ricky’s humour is based around saying things that you shouldn’t, going into areas that most people don’t. Personally, I never get offended by what people say. If Ricky was just picking on disability I’d have a problem, but he picks on every taboo area."
If she’s devoted to Gervais, it is for good reason. After sharing a stand-up bill with her, he agreed to perform free of charge in a pilot of a chat show - never commissioned - which she did for Channel 4, and subsequently rang her up to ask if she’d like to appear in his new show alongside Kate Winslet. "It’s very exciting. It’s a main part in one episode - Ricky’s a film extra who really wants to be a ’proper’ actor, and I play someone he meets. I think it’s going to be very, very funny. The thing is, Ricky’s as funny off-screen as he is on it - he’s utterly hilarious, and the biggest thing I’m worried about is keeping a straight face," she says.
It’s particularly exciting for Martinez, whose first love was acting and who first found fame as Rachel in BBC1’s Grange Hill. At that point, acting was all she wanted to do. But after two years unemployed, she was willing to reconsider her options. The opportunity came in the form of a script by her father, the writer Alex Martinez, in which Francesca was to play a stand-up comedian. A film company expressed interest on the condition that Francesca got some comedy training, so she gingerly signed up for a course at the City Lit. "I didn’t get out of my seat for six weeks, I was so scared. It was pathetic! Stand-up is very different to acting - you’re baring yourself, not a character. But somehow they persuaded me to do a five-minute routine at the end of term show, and even though I was shaking even more than normal, I thought, ’Wow! This is it! This is what I’m meant to do!’"
She started gigging on the London comedy circuit and within a year had won the Daily Telegraph Open Mic Award, which rocket-propelled her career. Comedy festivals in Montreal, Melbourne and Ottowa followed, as well as her debut solo show at the Edinburgh Fringe and a tour with The Comedy Network. Soon, Rachel from Grange Hill was sharing bills with big-name stars and being interviewed by Frank Skinner. "I was thrown in the deep end. I’d only done about 50 gigs when I won the award. But it really pushed me, which was good."
These days, despite appearances, she insists she has more balance in her life. Apart from giving her more time to expand the scope of her writing, her year off has also given her time to get to know her current boyfriend ("he came to see me do a show, and came up to me afterwards to say he’d travelled all the way from Switzerland to see me - I thought he was a nutter"). And she’s learnt to take a more relaxed approach to stand-up. "Now, I’m in a position to really enjoy myself, to chat with the crowd. I didn’t really do much of that before, I was too scared. But you evolve, and the audiences evolve too. I’ve learnt that, in life, you set the agenda by which other people treat you. Stand-up has really taught me to be happy in my own skin."
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Wobbly but on the money
Stand-up comics are not a one-size-fits-all package, writes Stephanie Bunbury.
The correct word for my condition," says Francesca Martinez once she has made it to the microphone, "is ’sober’." Immediate laughter: we can all relax. For the uninitiated, the past couple of minutes have been tense - watching someone with cerebral palsy jerk perilously up a set of stairs does not suggest that the next hour is going to be a bundle of laughs, given it is a comedy show.
It’s tricky, all this. There is no point trying to be all careful, caring and correct when discussing Martinez’s wobbliness, as she calls it, because she is not perfectly correct herself.
"Drugs, for example," she says, wide-eyed, "I can’t even thread a needle! And I believe John Belushi would still be here now (judicious pause) if he were financing his habit from a disability allowance."
Martinez so does not have any hang-ups. "The essential point I make in my show is that I am different, but then so is everyone," she says afterwards. "I’m the same as any other comic. I talk about my life. And part of my life is affected by CP. That’s the way it is!"
Martinez was an early performer at school. Her father saw an advertisement in the Times inviting young, disabled people to audition for Grange Hill, a popular television series set in a high school. She did. A role was created for her and, hey presto, she was a soap star at 14. "That was a childhood dream," she says. "I think it saved me because it gave me an excuse to miss school for about nine months of the year - legally."
Her real high school was not half as nurturing as Grange Hill. Her parents, who had fought to keep her in the mainstream education system, had sent her to an all-girls school thinking, as she says, "it would be better if I didn’t have teenage boys bumping into me in the corridors, full of testosterone". In fact, she just lost all her confidence.
Until the age of 12, she was scarcely aware of being different from anyone else. "I was the most cheeky, naughty girl in the world; I had no self-consciousness at all," she says. "But during my teen years I suffered a lot. At that age, appearance is so important and there is a group mentality, where the most important thing is to fit in. There were groups in the school and I didn’t fit into any of them." That teenage bitchiness was good training as a stand-up comedian. "I had to say pretty early, ’am I going to let my insecurities get the better of me? Or do I say life is too short?’."
At 19, she was too old for Grange Hill, so her father, a screenwriter, wrote a film script for her - now in development - where the character with CP was also a stand-up comedian. "I said ’Dad, this is absolute Oscar-winning stuff, but hullo! Do you want to kill me?’," she says. "I was like anyone - I thought stand-up was the scariest thing you could do."
With her family’s encouragement, she signed up for a six-week comedy workshop course. For the first two weeks, she lay doggo, until then manager of the English soccer team Glen Hoddle made a silly comment that people burdened by disability in this life must have done something wrong in the last. Martinez stood up and said how worried she was about those things she must have done in her last life. Had she deliberately run down old ladies?
"I was shaking," she says. "But people were laughing .. it was the first time I’d talked about my disability in public - the first time I had been open and honest about it. I always stupidly thought that if I didn’t mention it, people somehow wouldn’t notice it. But people take their cue from you and I saw, suddenly, that if I were cool and relaxed about it, they would follow suit."
From then on, she didn’t stop gigging. Stand-up, which seemed so scary, was the perfect forum for talking about taboo issues in a comfortable way. Sex, for example.
"I put a condom on my boyfriend," she says in her show, "and my hands shake so much, it’s all over before I’ve begun!"
In 2000, only one year after her moment of epiphany in the classroom of comedians, Martinez won the Daily Telegraph Open Mike award in Edinburgh - effectively a passport to recognition. She is a fixture on Britain’s comedy circuit now, and last year she took her full-length show to the Edinburgh Festival, where it sold out.
Now she is bringing it to Melbourne.
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’My show is about getting away from the labels we put on people,’ Francesca Martinez explains enthusiastically. Everyone in the pub is surreptitiously staring, partly because she’s gorgeous, has a loud, infectious laugh and talks with such energy, but probably also because her cerebral palsy means that her speech is affected with an exaggerated slurring - one of her jokes is that people’s first assumption about her is usually that she’s drunk.
’I’m labelled "Francesca Martinez - disabled stand-up comic", but if I didn’t have CP I’d still be "female stand-up comic", so one of the points I’m making in the show is that being put into a group happens to everyone.’
Martinez, 23, exploded on to the comedy scene two years ago when she started performing as research for a film role and almost as a by-product ended up winning the Daily Telegraph’s Open Mic competition at Edinburgh. This year’s festival will prove her mettle - a full hour’s stand-up, difficult enough to sustain at the best of times, but especially when you can’t actually stand up without the help of a chair.
Her new show, I’mperfect, is bound to allay any fears that her initial acclaim might have been due to novelty value. ’I’m not doing a show about disability, or about living with CP,’ she says. ’It’s about me, and I’m just an individual.
’Although it is very personal and close to my heart, it’s really about perspectives and how we choose to see things, which affects all of us in some way.
’In the past I have been criticised for doing too much material about disability - though I hate that word - but in reality every comic takes material from their own experience, and it happens that my view on life is shaped by the body I was born in.’
I’mperfect (’from the beginning the audience has to decide how they’re going to read it’) was co-written with her father, Alex, with whom she is also writing a sitcom for Channel 4, and is based on a pivotal time in her own life. ’After I left secondary school I was very low. I’d had my confidence taken away, and I really appreciated the people who made me understand that I didn’t have to see myself as other people did, I could choose to change my outlook. That’s sort of what I want to do for the audience.
’It’s a great feeling to make people laugh, but I feel it’s also a privilege to have an hour of anyone’s time, so I do want to use it to challenge people’s attitudes and perhaps make them question the way they look at things.’
In anyone else’s hands this might be too much of a moral burden to impose on a comedy show, but Martinez’s wisdom and her impish delight in shocking her audience wins them over immediately. She delivers a show that is well constructed and slick, barely pausing to allow the audience to recover from one joke before she’s on to the next.
’I really love that first moment when I go on stage because I know people are sitting there thinking, "Oh my God", not knowing whether to pity me or feel embarrassed, and I don’t want them to feel guilty for that, so I try to put them at ease.’
One of her tricks, employed to great effect in this show and aided by her impressive timing, is to lead her audience down an avenue of thought and produce a sudden change of direction with the punchline. Frank references to her own sex life and a healthy injection of F words help to destroy any notion that she needs to be handled delicately or with condescension - it’s hard to imagine her being bombarded with rowdy heckles at Edinburgh, but equally impossible that she wouldn’t be able to give as good as she got. ’Have I shocked you?’ she giggles, after a joke that’s particularly near the knuckle, clearly enjoying the knowledge that she has.
’I like the contradictions,’ she acknowledges, smiling. ’I like the fact that it may take me forever to get up to the mike, but I’m doing something most people in the room would never dare to do, so they can pity me or envy me. It all depends on what you value.’
Whatever their preconceptions, by the time she’s five minutes into her show, pity could not be further from the minds of her audience, displaced by admiration, stomach-clutching laughter and the recognition that an hour of her time is indeed a privilege.
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That’s a real balancing act
Have you heard the one about the comic with cerebral palsy? If not, you should let Francesca Martinez tell it to you.
When Francesca Martinez walks on stage you can feel the tension in the air. Not because she is a young, attractive woman in a room full of inebriated men, but because it takes her several minutes and the help of a friend just to stand in front of the microphone. Martinez has cerebral palsy, so she walks like a drunkard and sometimes slurs her words. Stand-up comedy, then, would not have been the first choice of her careers adviser.
Yet Martinez is, at 20, probably the fastest-rising female comic in the country - she won two major awards at the Edinburgh Festival this year - as well as an experienced television actress (she was in Grange Hill for five years) and an occasional model. Though she finds it less exciting than acting or comedy, Martinez enjoys the irony of modelling: ’That to me is the ultimate contradiction, because modelling is so superficial. Yet in photographs, my disability doesn’t show.’
Under a spotlight in a comedy club, however, it shows as starkly as it ever could. In Britain, female comics are so rare that they tend to receive a barrage of crude come-ons from the heckle brigade. But Martinez, despite her slim body, suggestive smile and long, dark curls, causes a reaction akin to mild shock. Heckles freeze in mid-air as her limbs twitch and the microphone shakes beneath her lips.
The night I see her, she is playing a tiny dive of a club called Kool Eddie’s, situated under a café on London’s Charing Cross Road. There are 16 people in the audience, and six of them are performing on the same bill. Martinez, whose face was, barely a month earlier, plastered over the front page of the Daily Telegraph and a colour spread in Elle magazine, is the main attraction. Before she comes on, there are a couple of misogynistic loudmouths and a chubby Asian comic whose first line is: ’Yeah, I know what you’re thinking. That Sanjay [from EastEnders ] has really let himself go.’
Martinez, thankfully, is in a different class. After the long, woozy walk to the stage, she looks at the meagre audience and says in her high, warbly voice: ’In case you’re wondering, the correct term for my condition is "sober". When I’m pissed, I walk in a straight line.’ Her act is slick and conventionally structured but commendably close to the bone, and focused almost entirely upon exploding people’s preconceptions of her disability. One joke runs: ’It’s hard coping with an imperfect body because you feel isolated and unattractive and you can lose all your confidence.’ Pause, while audience turn pale with horror. ’That’s why my ex-boyfriend now goes to the gym.’ Relieved laughter and applause.
Another brings up the subject of disabled people having sex. ’Men always ask me if I shake during sex,’ she smiles. ’I tell them, "That depends on how good you are".’
This is how Martinez’s comedy works. It doesn’t lecture, accuse or complain; rather, it plays on the fear and awkwardness that most able-bodied people feel in the presence of disability, and replaces that fear and awkwardness with something warmer and more informed. ’I know when I get up on stage that some people are scared,’ she says. ’A lot of them are thinking, "Is she going to make us feel bad?" Most of the images people see of disability are of heartache, struggle, isolation. That creates a lot of tension, and comedy is all about the release of tension.’
Off stage, Martinez seems even brighter and more fluent than she does on stage. She is nervous at first, but soon starts overflowing with enthusiasm and a sharp intelligence, to the extent that I only manage to ask five questions in two hours.
My first is this: how did someone who can’t hold a cup of tea without spilling it end up doing a job that makes most able-bodied people go weak at the knees? It started, she explains, as research for a part in a film that her father had written, which involved the lead character doing a stand-up routine. ’It’s an amazing screenplay and a very strong lead role, which was written for me. When the screenplay was taken on by a big film company, they wanted to cast Hollywood stars, so I realised I had to prove I was right for the part.’
Her father, Alex, a novelist and screenwriter whose background is Spanish, sits with her at the interview, which takes place in a half-empty wine bar in north London. He is quiet and looks serious, but they are obviously close and at ease with each other and, despite the usual malicious rumours on the comedy circuit, he doesn’t seem like a Svengali figure. His role in her career, along with Francesca’s mother Christina and her younger brother Raoul, has been to ensure that Francesca went to mainstream schools all her life, that she felt loved and ’normal’, that she always had a straw to drink through, and that she had the confidence to pursue her dreams.
One thousand children are born each year in this country with cerebral palsy; most, like Francesca, suffer as a result of problems that occur during or just before birth. During her mother’s protracted labour, the oxygen supply to part of Francesca’s brain was cut off; it was the part of her brain that controls balance, not thought or emotion. In other words, she is not mentally retarded, though many people treat her as though she is. In fact, she was a bright child and happily unaffected by her condition until she went to an all-girls’ secondary school.
There she suffered the same kind of frustrations and sadnesses as many misfit teenagers, feeling left out and underconfident, but she did nurture her secret dreams. Her first dream was to be an actress, which came true at the age of 14, when she was cast as Rachel Burns, a disabled character whose story lines never dwelt on her disability, in Grange Hill. She acted in the school series for five years and remains grateful about its effects. ’Thousands of people recognise me from Grange Hill , and they never say, "Oh, you’re that disabled girl". It’s always, "Hi, Rachel".’
You have to wonder, though, if her comedy will inspire the same kind of reaction. Clever and pointed as her jokes are, there is surely a danger that she will be seen as a one-trick pony, as a comic whose primary strength is in the uniqueness of her material rather than the quality of her writing and delivery. But Martinez is defiant about the nature of her subject matter. ’I will do that material for as long as there is tension when I step on to a stage,’ she says.
’It’s true that my disability gives me something unique, but it’s not having a disability that allows you to be a comedian. I would hope that in five or 10 years’ time, disabled people will be able to go on stage and not even mention it. But for the moment that’s not possible. As long as there is tension in the audience, it’s necessary for me to deflate it.’
I mention the Asian comic at Kool Eddie’s and his ’Sanjay’ gag. ’Yes, he’s a friend of mine,’ says Martinez with a flash of eyes, ’and I know exactly why he does that joke because it’s the same reason I start with the "sober" joke. When society is less tense about race or disability, we’ll happily drop those gags.’
Martinez has huge hopes for 2001. Her stand-up profile is growing all the time, and she has a sitcom, co-written with her father, in development. Then there is the film, which is being produced by ’a very famous British actor’, and which is expected to start shooting in the next 12 months.
’I think it’s important that I get the part,’ she says, ’because then it won’t be just another Daniel Day Lewis winning an award for being ugly in a wheelchair. That’s already been done. I think and hope that this will be groundbreaking.’
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Francesca was nominated for the UK’s Motivator Of The Year Award’ in 2005. This award recognizes an individual who is an outstanding achiever in a sport, business, entertainment or charity capacity. She was nominated alongside Olympic Gold Medallist, Matthew Pincent, and Sir Bob Geldof.
Using her award-winning humour, Francesca has given many inspirational speeches in the UK and abroad. She talks passionately about facing your fears and the profound power of positive thinking, gaining the right perspective and questioning society‘s values. Francesca shares insights into defying expectations, winning against the odds and overcoming physical and psychological barriers
Francesca truly believes that we all have to learn the same life lessons and this means her speeches are universally powerful. Francesca defines herself by what she can do and not by what she can’t do - this is what makes her a moving, uplifting and unforgettable speaker.
Whether through stand-up comedy, motivational speaking or after-dinner speaking, Francesca communicates an inspiring message. Francesca has given many motivational speeches to schools, colleges, companies, charities, celebrities, dinner guests and as part of her role as a London 2012 Olympic Ambassador. She spoken at events with Heather McCartney, Roy Keane and Irish PM, Bertie Aherne.
Francesca loves audiences of any age and with her comedy skills,she is the perfect performer to entertain, inspire and motivate.
Francesca has spoken at after-dinner events including London’s Dorchester Hotel which also featured speeches from Cherie Blair and Nelson Mandela.
Francesca has been invited to speak at The House of Commons, and was guest of honour at Canada’s International Day Of Disability Gala dinner.
Francesca has spoken at events attended by Irish Prime Minister, Bertie Aherne and London Mayor, Ken Livingstone.
Francesca’s unique position as a successful mainstream performer is proof she is breaking down many barriers, and changing attitudes.
Francesca‘s supporters include Ricky Gervais, who wrote an episode of ‘Extras’ around her, Johnny Vegas, and Michael Barrymore and Frank Skinner, who both personally invited her on their shows.
As one of the top comedians of her generation, Francesca‘s talks are hilarious, unique and thought-provoking.
“Francesca’s speech was the hit of the evening – funny, personal and very inspirational. Everyone singled her out and said what a great speaker she was. Her impact was amazing and we’d love her to come back next year.”
"When I was at Unilever I organised an event around the theme of creative courage. All artists display varying degrees of courage but Francesca walked on stage and changed the atmosphere. She made them more courageous from that moment. It was like a euphoria - it took them a while to come down.”
“In all our years of annual conferences, Francesca is the first speaker to receive a standing ovation! Pearls of wisdom flowed from her mouth and her act was both hilarious and inspirational. A refreshingly different take on comedy, she wise-cracks her way through prejudice and disability. A big-hearted woman with a zest for life, from whom everyone could learn a lesson.”
“Francesca was a great success and I have received very good feedback from our staff.”
“Thank you so much to Francesca. She was just perfect for the event - she pitched it all just right and seemed so lovely. She was very inspirational, SO naturally funny (and VERY beautiful!).”
“Francesca was brilliant - a real tonic for just after lunch.”
“Francesca’s performance went down fantastically with lots of positive feedback.”
“Everybody loved Francesca’s performance - she was the highlight of an evening of exciting performances. Her warm, friendly, easy-going personality endeared her to those who worked with her at the event.”
“Francesca was great - as ever! And we look forward to an opportunity to work again with her soon.”
“The seminar was a success - thanks in no small way to Francesca’s fantastic performance; on which we got great feedback. Thanks again to Francesca for coming over and making it memorable.”
"Excellent fun - fantastic! I haven’t laughed so hard for ages and it’s brilliant that the council has included the comedy night as an awareness raising event which gave us all a giggle! Francesca’s performance was top notch. ”
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Please write your message here:
Please email Kristina Forrester with any queries about:
Kristina Forrester
Tel: +44 (0)7758 280 418
Email: francesca.mail@phonecoop.coop