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Becoming Victoria Wood

Becoming Victoria Wood

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Summary

A feature-length documentary portrait of the Lancashire actress, writer and comedian to coincide with the 10th anniversary of Wood's death. Rarely seen archive footage and previously unheard audio recordings shed light on the creative process.

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Review

David Brown

So revered did Victoria Wood become as a trailblazer that some will be unaware of her initial struggles to have her voice heard. A few might put this down to her comedy being hard to categorise at the time. But evidence from her own scrapbooks of press cuttings will leave most in no doubt that, in the late 1970s and early 80s, it was misogyny that stymied her early career, with reviews often remarking on her body rather than her body of work.

Shy but also courageous, ambitious but clueless about how to achieve fame, Wood ended up harnessing those criticisms of her appearance and filling her stand-up and songs with bittersweet, personal, but also emancipatory insights into life, sex and class.

As the title suggests, it’s the journey towards star status that’s the preoccupation of this profile — a focus that results in her successes following 1985’s As Seen on TV being sped through. But as a portrait of how a remarkable but neglected misfit acquired the discipline and mettle to use her talent, it’s quietly affecting.

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rolenameDirectorCatherine AbbottWriterCatherine Abbott

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