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Comedian Yvonne Hughes is finding a new lease on life through her passion for stand-up, performing her show “Absolutely Riddled” at Edinburgh’s Gilded Balloon Patter House until August 15th.
Hughes, who found her comedic footing at The Stand Comedy Club’s “Red Raw” beginners’ slot, views comedy as a vehicle for personal transformation. “I want to change my life,” she stated, “and I am doing comedy to see if I can change my life.”
‘comedy was the one thing that was for me’ … Hughes performing at Monkey Barrel, Edinburgh. Photograph: Yvonne Hughes/PA
The comedian’s journey has also involved navigating personal relationships, finding a partner, Alan, online nearly four years ago. This has required her to develop a capacity for envisioning a future and to actively counter her ingrained tendency to withdraw to preempt potential future losses. She describes the process of allowing herself to enjoy Alan’s company as a way to calm her mind.
Hughes reflects on the profound shift in her daily existence, noting the conscious effort required to recall the difficulties of her past. She illustrates this by describing her former shallow breathing, which necessitated sharp intakes of breath to register the act of breathing. This was a recurring physical manifestation, even during simple actions like fastening a seatbelt.
“Now I can get in the car, pull the seatbelt over and go,” she shared. “I can walk and talk. I can laugh without wetting myself or going into a convulsion of coughing, pulling a muscle or breaking a rib.” She characterized her former condition as a “horrible, horrible disease” that was suffocating and debilitating. Now, she states, “it is something I can live with and not die from. I’ll probably live to get my pension.”
Beyond the return of “fun, joy and laughter,” comedy has provided Hughes with a sense of belonging and purpose. “I had never found anything for me in my life,” she explained. “I’d never married. I had no children. So I had no community. Nothing.” In contrast to others establishing careers and lives, she found her unique space in comedy. “Comedy was the one thing that was for me. And it still is. Just for me.”
