It’s with enormous sadness that I’ve just heard about the death of Victoria Wood from cancer. She was, quite simply, my kind of act. Her body of work was astounding – TV sketch shows, stand up, sitcoms, musicals, plays and films (both comic and straight) – all containing the same depth of wit and unsentimental pathos that set her head and shoulders above the rest of her (mostly male) peers. Victoria Wood saw humour in the humdrum, the extraordinary in the everyday. She was a breath of fresh air from both the misogynistic old dinosaurs of her early career and the new breed of angry comics who thought shouting expletives at you was funny. And, she was generous with her words, giving her best lines to the talented cast of people she always kept close, Julie Walters among them.
I’m so pleased I got to see her (twice) at the Albert Hall back in the day. Victoria Wood has kept me laughing through four decades.
So I give you the Ballad of Barry and Freda…
Image courtesy of the Guardian.
Perking the Pansies 
I heard this awful news moments before seeing your post. I too am a HUGE fan of Victoria Wood, and saw her live on many occasions at the Bristol Hippodrome. She was the same age as me – such an absolute waste of talent and vitality. I agree with every word you have written. Thank you for putting my thoughts into words.
LikeLike
A sad day. 😦
LikeLike
mortality rubbing quicklime into the wounds of age!
LikeLike
So sad.
LikeLike
Thanks for the video. I was not familiar with her.
LikeLike
You can see more on YouTube. Her humour was full of social observation, particuarly about the English and our many foibles. She really was a class act.
LikeLike
I had not heard of her before (here in Canada) and just watched a youtube video where Wood performed at the Albert Hall in 2001. Her take of menopause was just hilarious.
LikeLike
I was there in the audience for that one. I laughed so much I almost choked! 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person