ROSIE Wilby returns this week as part of a Homotopia comedy special.
Rosie, who grew up in Ormskirk and is no stranger to Liverpool’s top LGBTQ+ arts fest, is getting back onto the post-pandemic live circuit following the publication of her latest book, The Breakup Monologues, inspired by her podcast of the same name.
The weird and wonderful world of romantic relationships has provided a real creative fascination for Rosie for years, and the new book takes her own life experiences and intertwines them with scientific studies and anecdotes from fellow creatives.
It analyses the major relationships in her life and what brought them to an end - meeting Boozy Ex-Girlfriend, Secretive Ex-Girlfriend, Bisexual Comedian and more along the way, and figuring out how this shaped the person she had become by the time of meeting her now-partner, and how their story has unfolded thus far. It all takes us pretty much up to the present day, and there’s something about it - now we’ve been through a pandemic and all, and with changing ways of thinking of sex and gender - that does feel a world away from her first book, Is Monogamy Dead?.
Rosie’s a beautiful writer with a natural feel for describing the little details of the intimacy, banality, and highs and lows of relationships. She’s witty, relatable and entertaining, open about sex and desire without being crass, and writes about herself without sliding into self-indulgence. It’s enjoyable getting to know her and identifying with her experiences. It’s all pretty universal stuff, after all.
(I went to the same school as Rosie, although I didn’t know her, and remember the art teacher who gets a mention, which is always fun to see in print.)
Podcast guests including Richard Herring and Katy Brand intersperse the book with their own tales of tragedy and triumph in relationships, from getting over divorce to mortifying break ups (‘I thought he had ghosted me but he’d just gone to prison’, shares stand up Louise Leigh).
It’s a funny, easy read and Rosie is always good company in print or on stage.
Catch her as the MC of Queer as in Funny at the Capstone Theatre on Saturday, October 30. The book, The Breakup Monologues: The Unexpected Joy of Heartbreak is available now.
