Little Old Ladies

I love little old ladies. Love ‘em. The vast majority of the time, if there’s a member of the public that is incredibly generous and invigorating with the energy they give, it’s a little old lady.

Lately, there have been some pretty spectacular elderly members of the audience. The woman in the polk-a-dot blouse, the super generous clapper, the happy man in the wheelchair... Once, when the opportunity presented itself, I found the courage to go up to one of these gems of the public and thanked them for their generosity and enthusiasm. Nothing makes getting through your act easier than having a shining beacon of a face beaming at you. When it’s stinking hot, or you really just didn’t feel like going on stage that day, a member of the audience like that just carries you. And on those rare occasions where you can make your appreciation known, well that just goes straight to the heart.

The other night, we had two little old ladies sitting in the front row on the right. They were very close to my trapeze and after my first drop, I literally saw them jump in their seats and clutch their chests. I smiled at the sight of it and knew they would be wonderful.

When it came to my wheel act, they did not disappoint. And a good thing too as my act got off to quite the rocky start. But they had the most luminous smiles and had their hands clasped in front of them right below their chins, completely enthralled.

At the end of my act I always look centre, left right, then back to centre and whisper a little thank you to the crowd. But that night was centre, left, right, the two little old ladies for a special thank you just to them. They nodded back and whispered something of their own, and I swear, I floated off that stage.