Spent's Michelle de Swarte: 'Comedy is a great vehicle to touch on serious issues'
Ahead of the release of her new BBC Two series, the comedian discusses the transformative power of comedy.
Comedian Michelle de Swarte, best known for Netflix's The Duchess and Sky Atlantic comedy horror The Baby, returns to our screens for Spent, a BBC Two series which is partly inspired by her own experience of being a catwalk model.
She plays Mia, who leaves New York for London without a penny to her name following the death of her modelling career. But the city she once called home has changed, leaving Mia unsure of herself – or whether there's even a place for her anymore.
Speaking to RadioTimes.com, Swarte said that while "being a model and living in New York" might not be familiar to some viewers, "the experience of living beyond our means, and sometimes doing it in a way that can be detrimental to the rest of your month or your year or the rest of your life", is something that a lot of people can relate to.
Another of the show's key themes, the UK's rapidly evolving cities, will also strike a chord with many tuning in.
"Chances are if you live in a city, it's changed," she said. "There are a lot of people being displaced and I think Mia's story is a nice way to tackle it because she herself has kind of been gentrified as an individual. So she comes back and on the face of things, she kind of would be the problem, but she doesn't have the money to enjoy all the low-hanging fruit."
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The negative impact of gentrification is no laughing matter but for Swarte, that makes it the perfect fodder for comedy.
"That's how I approach stand-up as well, as a way to speak about things that are serious, but do it in a way that is light-hearted and doesn't leave you feeling burdened," she explained. "I think comedy is a great vehicle to be able to touch on some serious issues.
"That's something that I love about the art of humour and stand-up. Sometimes if you laugh about something and it doesn't feel too heavy, then that can be a great springboard to turn around to your mate and say, 'Has that ever happened to you?' or 'Do you ever feel like that?'
"It can start a conversation without it feeling too weighty."
Swarte also discussed how comedy can bring disparate groups together.
"Sometimes I'll go to a city and walk in the room and the audience will be white middle-aged people and we will have the best night ever and they'll laugh their asses off and it will be a killer gig," she said.
"No one in that room looks like me, no one's from my background, but we're all laughing. I'm always heart-warmed and surprised in comedy. I'll walk into a room and be like, 'Oh, I don't know if these are my people.' But it's like yeah, they are."
Spent arrives on Monday 8th July at 9pm on BBC Two. The series will also be available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
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Authors
Abby Robinson is the Drama Editor for Radio Times, covering TV drama and comedy titles. She previously worked at Digital Spy as a TV writer, and as a content writer at Mumsnet. She possesses a postgraduate diploma and a degree in English Studies.
