Dame Joanna Lumley has credited the success of her 32-year marriage to her husband, conductor Stephen Barlow, to maintaining separate lives. Speaking during her first solo tour, 'It's All About Me', at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast, the 72-year-old actress told the audience: 'Don't be on top of each other all the time. Give yourselves space. We have been married for 32 years, but our real time together is only about 17 months. And I couldn't love him more!'
The Absolutely Fabulous star is touring the UK and Ireland for the first time with a one-woman show that celebrates her six-decade career. The tour, which includes 30 dates, sees Lumley sharing anecdotes from her life, from her early days as a model in the 1960s to her roles as a Bond girl, Purdey in The New Avengers, and Patsy Stone in Ab Fab.
During the Belfast performance, Lumley reflected on her modelling training at the Lucie Clayton finishing school, where she learned how to walk across a room 'hip bones first' and how to exit an E-type Jaguar in a mini-skirt without revealing her underwear. She also recalled her minor role as a Bond girl in On Her Majesty's Secret Service, describing filming in an Austrian ski resort as 'absolute heaven'.
The stage for the show is minimalist, featuring only a table, two chairs, and a screen for projections. Lumley uses a prop-filled trunk, including a bottle of champagne, to enhance her storytelling. The tour marks a departure for the actress, who once said she enjoyed the 'irresponsibility' of acting, where she could speak someone else's lines and then go home.
