Comedian Rachel Parris is one of the guests on this week's Sunday Brunch alongside Charlatan Tim Burgess, Nicola Roberts, Cedric Neal, Tracey-Ann Oberman and Parks and Recreation star Nick Offerman. With music from KT Tunstall.
Parris will be talking about her new book, Introducing Mrs Collins: A Pride and Prejudice sequel telling the story of what Charlotte Lucas did next, which offers a new twist on the Jane Austen Pride and Prejudice metaverse. Richard Osman has called the book 'Warm witty and wise'.
Parris will be known to many though for her comedy appearances as a performer. During lockdown she and her husband Marcus Brigstocke dressed up and did cover versions of songs by the likes of Robbie Williams online which helped to cheer up fans during Covid.
Parris is also known for her deadpan monologues, which were one of the highlights of the now departed Mash Report, where Parris satirised high status political and media figures such as Piers Morgan and Donald Trump.
Before then, however, Parris was best known as a musical comedian. She is a brilliant pianist and songsmith with an ear for a catchy tune and a comic couplet. And she also does improvisation shows, most recently with Austentatious and Paul Merton and Suki Webster.
When I interviewed Parris for my Rarely Asked Questions slot in 2017 she was modest about her talents: "I think I’m a good storyteller and singer/songwriter and while I don’t think I am the strongest standup, I do think I have an ability to engage with an audience, which helps. I sometimes have those golden gigs where I’ve felt like “oh it turns out, I CAN do this”!– where the crowd just crack up at every little thing you say, every face you make, and those gigs make me occasionally feel like I have the capacity to be very good. But I’m not always and consistency is half the job."
When I asked her who her favourite person was she said Leslie Knope - the fictional character played by Amy Poehler in Parks and Recreation, so it'll be interesting to see if that comes up when she is seated alongside fellow Parks and Recreation star Nick Offerman on Sunday Brunch.
Sunday Brunch, Sunday, November 2, 10pm, C4.
Buy
