Rosalie Minnitt on playing Clementine: ‘I think it’s repelled men’
Look out boys: crazed aristocrat Clementine is back and she’s still on the hunt for love. Promising an unholy mash-up of influences for her second coming, creator Rosalie Minnitt talks to Claire Sawers about the character taking over her brain and scaring away the menfolk
Back in 2023, London comedian Rosalie Minnitt brought unhinged, Regency-era heroine Clementine to the Fringe and crowds went wild for her laudanum-guzzling, parasol-twirling, neurotic alter ego. Clementine was unhappily single at the societally unacceptable age of 27 and Minnitt’s debut show took a deranged look at her attempts to attract a suitor, with 21st-century nods to feminism, via Beyoncé, tarot cards and TikTok. Clementine’s frenzied mission to find her true love ultimately led to self-acceptance: turns out she’s the one she’d been looking for all along.
After selling out Edinburgh two years in a row, then London’s Soho Theatre for three runs, Minnitt took Clementine on a UK tour last year, which also sold out. The illiterate leading lady, with neither sense nor sensibility, is returning to Edinburgh in a brand-new show, Clementine II, plus a one-night reprise of the original Clementine hour. ‘Part two is War And Peace meets HBO’s Girls meets Sex And The City in Les Mis,’ explains Minnitt, who has been busy with a Radio 4 Valentine’s special of Clementine, and co-writing Literally, a BBC sketch comedy show which aims to help high school students with their English literature GCSEs. ‘I’m having so much fun bringing more of Clementine’s world to life,’ says Minnitt. ‘You can expect more C-plot characters that add absolutely nothing to the storyline, unnecessary props and a banging soundtrack. It’s about dreams, nostalgia and wanting to matter in a world that’s on fire.’
Something about Clementine’s blend of zany, restless energy and complicated yet emancipated life goals struck a chord, and Minnitt was bowled over by the reaction. Some women watched the first show multiple times, messaging Minnitt to praise her for writing an insane, empire-lined character who caught butterflies in nets, yet somehow made them feel seen. ‘I love it best when I win people over. That’s gratifying. Sometimes people don’t really know what to do with her at first, but then once they let their guards down, they really buy into her world, which is so exciting. My favourite Fringe memory is getting my first review. I had no idea whether people would like it. I was really nervous about the whole process. Seeing that someone connected with what I was trying to do was such a special moment.’
Three years down the line, after much time-travelling with the frilly-bonneted spoof, can Minnitt still remember where she ends and Clementine begins? ‘She absolutely takes over my brain and body. Sometimes I come off stage and genuinely can’t remember what I’ve said during the show; it’s almost like I’ve completely blacked out. I know it’s been a good performance when I can’t quite remember it afterwards.’ Besides writing the new show, Minnitt got her first TV credit playing a receptionist with zero awareness of Alan Partridge in How Are You? It’s Alan (Partridge). ‘I feel like I learned a lot by watching it all come together,’ she says of her experience working with Steve Coogan. ‘My best memory was watching how they improvise. It’s such a specific chemistry that comes together to make that character work.’
As well as performing Clementine by day, Minnitt will be appearing in the cast of drag musical comedy Margaret Thatcher Queen Of Hollywood at night. ‘Having time away from Clementine is actually what keeps the character alive; stepping away allows me to come back to her with fresh energy and makes the performance stronger.’ Clementine II has a message of falling in love with your life, though Minnitt thinks men may be mildly terrified by her association with the violent, chaotic spinster. ‘In general I think it’s repelled men! I would say that if I went on a date with someone who does what I do, I’d be scared too.’
Rosalie Minnitt: Clementine II, Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 August, 3.35pm; Clementine, Shedinburgh, 11 August, 6.45pm; Margaret Thatcher Queen Of Hollywood, Assembly George Square Gardens, 5–30 August, 8.40pm.