"Old granny" stand up in Kingston (From Kingston Guardian)

"Old granny" stand up in Kingston

10:00am Friday 4th May 2012 in Comedy By Nazia Dewji, Reporter

An agony aunt living the high-life in her 60s sees no reason to want to travel back to a time where hideous haircuts were in fashion and indecision ruled every life choice. Instead she says old age is a world that beams bright.

Bold and brash Virgina Ironside, 68, will talk fun funerals and the best sex ever for one night only as her production The Virginia Monologues: Why Growing Old is Great, hits the Rose this month.

She says: “It is old granny stand-up – about the joys of being old, and there are a lot of joys. One just gets that much more confident with age.

“You can be an old bat or an old bore but no matter how idiotic you are, you are still wiser than you were when you were younger.”

Grandmother and Rose Theatre virgin Ironside describes herself as a “west London girl” ready to perform in Kingston’s signature venue.

She says: “I’m finding being in your 60s is great – nothing like my disastrous younger years.

“It is a great relief not to have so many choices – you don’t have to think about your career as much or whether you want to move and you have already brought your children up.”

Having made ends meet as a single mother battling depression in her younger days, Ironside says: “I was almost suicidal – I thought about it so much that death does not frighten me anymore, it’s like an old friend.

“I know there are things wrong with being old – you get tired, it’s supposedly all doom and gloom but there’s quite a lot already written about all that.

“The play is funny and touching. I hope people walk out feeling pleased not to be young – there is a lot to look forward to as you get older.”

The Virginia Monologues: Why Growing Old is Great, the Rose, 24-26 High Street, Kingston, May 6, 7.30pm, £8 to £15. For more information visit 08444 821556 or visit rosetheatrekingston.org.