In a format that lies somewhere between stand up and a monologue, in ‘30 Million Minutes’ Dawn French gives us the lowdown of her life in this 2 hour special recorded in 2016 at London’s Vaudeville Theatre.
The show is the very best of Dawn French, revealing details of her early years and family memoirs, it is fascinating to get this never-before-seen insight. In particular the story of when the Queen Mother came to tea is comedy gold. These early stories allow for a real inspection into how French’s start in life gave her the acumen for comedy writing and performing.
If you are expecting two hours of anecdotes about Lenny Henry and Jennifer Saunders then you would be disappointed, since this is solely about French and her family, and how she has learned to be a mother, a sister, a wife, a daughter and a person.
Make no mistake about it, this is not just comedy, and French’s decision to deliberate herself honestly is a fascinating watch. Her openness regarding her own well-documented fertility issues is both harrowing and eye-opening, whilst her memories of losing her Father to suicide at a young age, and her mother suddenly to lung cancer are somber, but if anything, these things only makes her a more loveable and relatable figure.
Finally, I want to applaud Dawn French for her honest bite-back at the years of tabloid propaganda about her weight - as a plus-sized person, I have found French’s outlook and reaction to this inspiring. 30 million minutes will make you laugh, cry and want to call your loved ones immediately. It’s perfect for a lockdown watch.
30 million minutes was filmed at the Vaudeville Theatre, London and is available on Netflix and iPlayer until 9th May. https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b086knj2/dawn-french-live-30-million-minutes
Reviewer: Andrew Lee
Reviewed: 20th April 2020
North West End UK Rating: ★★★★★
