Ruby Wax's Absolutely Famous Review: A Candid Return to Celebrity Interviews
At Richmond Theatre in London, Ruby Wax takes the stage with her longtime TV producer Clive Tulloh for a show titled Absolutely Famous. This performance delves into her most revealing celebrity interviews from the past, blending archive footage with fresh commentary to explore the craft and chaos of interrogating big names.
Disarming Honesty in a Nostalgic Genre
Shows where veteran entertainers showcase clips from their careers often risk feeling like mere attempts to bask in applause without new material. However, Ruby Wax's contribution stands out due to her disarmingly upfront approach. In a production focused on fame-hunger and the celebrity experience, her candidness feels perfectly on point.
Co-hosted with Clive Tulloh, Absolutely Famous guides the audience through clips from her BBC show When Ruby Wax Met …. This series featured interviews with some of the most controversial figures of the 1990s and early 2000s, including OJ Simpson, Imelda Marcos, and a New York businessman whose notoriety was then in its infancy—Donald Trump.
Revisiting Shocking and Revealing Moments
While there's no pretense of experiencing the shock of the new—Wax has previously reflected on these interviews in a BBC retrospective—the footage combined with her insights makes for a highly entertaining evening. Highlights include Wax discussing and acting out sexual positions with Pamela Anderson and being sternly lectured by a steely Madonna.
The audience marvels as OJ Simpson mimes stabbing Wax with a knife and cringes during her encounters with Donald Trump and Bill Cosby, whose seething disdain for their assertive female interviewer is palpable on screen.
Persuasive Arguments for Unrepeatable Circumstances
At the start of the show, Clive Tulloh claims, "There haven't been interviews before or since that were so revealing." This might be an exaggeration, but he and Wax convincingly argue that the circumstances for When Ruby Wax Met … may never be replicated.
Wax's skill at ingratiating herself led to unprecedented access: she was allotted half an hour with Imelda Marcos but got four days, and she interviewed OJ Simpson for 17 hours non-stop. Such access is rare today, partly due to tightened BBC expense budgets.
Her unique combination of humour, charm, psychological perspicacity, and chutzpah remains a rarity in the industry.
Engaging Additions and Tour Details
A second-act Q&A session adds more detail, additional clips, and celebrity gossip from Wax's life as a Girl on Top. Like the show overall, this segment is non-revelatory but consistently engaging, keeping the audience captivated throughout.
Absolutely Famous is currently touring and will continue until 7 July, offering audiences a chance to experience this insightful and entertaining retrospective firsthand.
