The Scotsman Sessions #69: Rachel Jackson

Welcome to The Scotsman Sessions. With the performing arts world shutting down for the foreseeable future, we are commissioning a series of short video performances from artists all around the country and releasing them on scotsman.com, with introductions from our critics. Here, actor, comedian and writer Rachel Jackson performs an excerpt from Meteoroids, a black comedy she wrote as a vehicle for herself and Kate Dickie.

Rachel Jackson has had a lot of time to reflect of late. The Edinburgh-based actor, comedian and writer was working constantly until you-know-what happened. “I’m such an ambitious person normally,” she says, “so I thought I’d really struggle

when I heard we could be on lockdown for months. To suddenly stop was a bit scary, but it’s actually been good for me.”

Hide Ad

She’s spent the last few months running, cooking and “focusing on achieving small manageable goals,” such as experimenting with her make-up collection. “Basically I’m putting on so much in the house, just for something to do, I look like Pete

Burns. When he was alive.”

Jackson recently rose to prominence via roles in Karen Gillan’s directorial debut The Party’s Just Beginning and Brian Welsh’s ‘90s Scottish rave scene comedy-drama Beats. She’s performed stand-up at the Fringe and the Glasgow Comedy Festival,

hosted a monthly comedy night at the Tron, and even appeared as the face of Irn-Bru for a nationwide ad campaign. Earlier this year she was asked to join legendary Los Angeles improv troupe The Groundlings.

Work for Jackson is therapeutic. “If I didn’t have comedy in my life I’d probably have been sectioned by now. I got dumped on WhatsApp at Christmas after a four year relationship. I need to stay alive long enough to get a Netflix comedy special

unpicking how brutal that was. I often think the most tragic things that happen to us are also the sort of funniest. Not always, of course, but I definitely have a dark sense of humour.”

For her Scotsman Session, she’s chosen to perform an excerpt from Meteoroids, a black comedy she wrote as a vehicle for herself and Kate Dickie. “It’s about two total misfits who come together one day and their lives are changed

Hide Ad

forever,” she explains. “My intention was to get it staged at a theatre, but then – boom! - Coronavirus came along and laughed at all our plans. So now I’m trying to get it commissioned as a radio play instead.”

Rachel can be found on Twitter via @r_jacz.

A Message from the Editor

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

Hide Ad

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to scotsman.com and enjoy unlimited access to Scottish news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.scotsman.com/subscriptions now to sign up.

Joy Yates

Editorial Director