Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2015 – Honest to Godley *****
by Craig Todd
Those who know of Janey Godley’s work knew what they would get.
Foul-mouthed, rude and abrasive, fans loved what she had to say ranging from her views of Michelle Mone to the personal stories of being a gangster’s wife.
“This is the first free show I’ve done,” she said, whilst firing friendly expletives to late arrivals, due to the poor air conditioning in the Counting House.
“I wish she was my mother,” someone commented as she roared the crowd into fits of laughter about her husband’s honesty due to his Asperger’s.
Sexually abused as a child by her uncle, her mother was murdered by her violent boyfriend and Godley herself having previously been charged with gun possession, this story is haunting and unique.
Despite the shock of her mother’s murder, she gets laughs as she tells of creating an illusion of robbery in the Carlton Pub in Glasgow, involving four teenagers high on LSD, a Gregory’s Girl actor and Strathclyde Police, causing chaos just because “she was bored on a Tuesday.”
It gets even better when she relates the tale of one therapy session and the therapist’s attempts to get her to come back.
This is one of the stand-out shows the Fringe has to offer and one of the least publicised – mark this in your diary.