If I’m in the country for more than three weeks I turn feral

John-John and I went to see Julian Clary live on stage At the Arts Theatre in Soho last night, in conversation about his life and his new book. It was a fab way to end a Gay Pride weekend...

Briefs Encountered is described by one reviewer thus:

"...a deft mash-up of fact and fiction, a spectral love story that commutes between Noël Coward’s life in 1930s Kent and that of a contemporary film star who has bought the Master’s house years later.

Drenched in cod Coward epigrams and seasoned with a dash of Stephen King, it’s essentially Blithe Spirit on acid.

Which is not that much of a surprise in that it was written in the same house in which Noël created Madam Arcati."

And indeed that is the case - for back in 2006 (on the suggestion of Paul O'Grady, who lives nearby) Julian bought The Master's old rural retreat Goldenhurst, and has spent an absolute fortune restoring it to its former glory.

The house, purchased by Noel Coward as a young man around the same time as he began his first long-term affair (with Jack Wilson), evidently "called out" to our fave “annoying camp comic and renowned homosexual” [© Julian Clary]. For despite the dreadful state of the building when he moved in, the reputed ghosts and the muck and mud of the countryside, he's still there.

Remarkably, for someone who is evidently part of the "sophisticated set", the "glitterati", or however the public chooses to perceive celebrities these days, he seems to enjoy the rustic life of gardening and village fetes as much as he does the whirlwind social life of London and the stage. Although his rural idyll is ripe for humour:

“If I’m in the country for more than three weeks I turn feral. I stop washing ... and I’ve even been known to drink tap water!”

In truth he explained how much he appreciates spending much of the year in relative solitude, concentrating on his writing and his domestic situation, but after that he craves the attention of being in front of a ribald audience - he adores his panto stints, and will be embarking on another stand-up tour this autumn.

In one of the more revealing anecdotes last night, it was in fact the shaky situation of being apart from his partner (who was until recently working in America for almost eighteen months) that inspired some of the themes within Briefs Encountered, as well as the title of his new show - Position Vacant, Apply Within (which, he says, was conceived at a point when he thought the relationship was going to end).



Julian Clary is a charming man, and last night's audience - true to form, mainly gay men and old ladies - loved his candid discussions about his early years, his family's reaction to his outrageous persona (his grandmother came to see one of his blue shows, but switched her hearing aid off for the occasion), his famous friends (he has made up with Joan Collins after a legal challenge meant he had to change the name of his act from "The Joan Collins Fan Club" in the 80s, and they stay at each other's houses), his dogs (the late "Fanny the Wonderdog", and his current sidekick Valerie: "She has no talent. She's the Claire Sweeney of the dog world", were his words) and his new-found career as a bestselling author.

Indeed, he does have a way with words, so it isn't surprising he has taken to writing. I loved his autobiography A Young Man's Passage, which I read a couple of years ago. “I’m thinking of writing a sequel called Further Up My Passage,” he informed the punters last night. I have yet to read any of his fiction works, but by the sound of Briefs Encountered (a copy of which John-John kindly bought me, and the lovely Julian duly signed at the theatre) I am in for a treat!

Briefs Encountered is available from Amazon.

Julian Clary official website.