Victoria Wood: A tribute

Victoria Wood was an incredibly versatile and multi-talented artist whose inimitable wit and boundless warmth infused our lives with the joyful reassurance that we weren’t the only ones who hadn’t figured it all out yet.

She was a comedian, dramatist, composer, singer and actress with a creative output that transcended gender, class, race, sexuality and, as we will see in years to come, time itself. She was a unique voice whose death, for me, is the most tragic loss that our artistic community has suffered in recent years.

Like many children of the nineties and early noughties, I discovered her through my mother. There hasn’t been a single year of my life where she and I haven’t sat down together and bonded over the unifying force that is Victoria Wood for at least an hour. Through her, I witnessed the unprecedented effect that Victoria had on the British public, and on women in particular.

Victoria empowered the women of Britain by reassuring them that their lives and their concerns were wholly relevant

Her mainstream breakthrough was a revelation of the upmost importance for women like my mother. Here was a purposefully un-glamorous, full-figured, intelligent woman in elasticated trousers and a body-length blazer talking candidly about childbirth, the menopause, weight issues and school runs on prime-time television, drawing in millions of viewers; and she was empowering.

Image: Flickr/ MAG (Mines Advisory Group)

Victoria empowered the women of Britain by reassuring them that their lives and their concerns were wholly relevant, and by representing womanhood in a way that Hollywood and big-budget dramas never could and probably never will. She was the first woman do so on such a grand scale and, as we’ve moved through the noughties and into the 2010s, she still stands alone in that regard.

Although it was a significant part of her success, Victoria’s appeal transcended her gender. She once said: “A lot people who choose comedy are coming from a place of alienation”. Such a statement is reflective of how she was able to act as a spokesperson for many other underrepresented factions of our society. This is the case with many comedians, but Victoria’s particular approach to alienation was not characterised by aggression, bitterness or cynicism.

She delivered her self-deprecating material with a whole-hearted sincerity that transformed her into a source of comfort for those who also felt ‘apart’ and ‘disjointed from things’. She gave us the opportunity to laugh at ourselves and to find joy in even the most frustrating aspects of our lives.

She was a warm reminder of our mothers and our childhoods, she was a trailblazer who paved the way for women, northerners, odd-balls and working class people in arts and entertainment

I know it’s hardly a consolation, but we must be grateful for the fact that her legacy lives on and that her work is still readily available and preserved in all its glory for our avid consumption. And there’s so much to choose from!

Whether it be her bittersweet sitcom Dinnerladies, stand-up specials, sketches, early plays, musicals (Acorn Antiques: The Musical and That Day We Sang) or forays into the dramatic sphere, such as: Pat and Margaret, Housewife 49 and Eric and Ernie, she really does have something for everyone.

Victoria Wood was universally adored for the many things she represented in our society. She was a warm reminder of our mothers and our childhoods, she was a trailblazer who paved the way for women, northerners, odd-balls and working class people in arts and entertainment, she set a standard that simultaneously eclipsed these labels and held a perspective on modern life with which millions of us identified.

Above all, what she represented for me was the life-affirming qualities of art in all its forms, the unique healing properties of laughter and the equally poetic and absurd nature of the individual. She was one of a kind and will be sorely missed.