Matt Lucas: Creative discovery, grief, and tape recorders
Dec 4, 2023
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Matt Lucas, comedian, presenter, and author, talks about addressing grief during Christmas, the importance of creativity, understanding the prison population, and the backstory of being gay in the UK.
Matt Lucas's children's book, The Boy Who Slept Through Christmas, explores themes of grief and cherishing the holiday season for children experiencing their first Christmas without a loved one.
The process of writing and recording songs became therapeutic for Matt Lucas, helping him navigate through a period of depression and inspiring him to explore his creativity.
Deep dives
Matt Lucas' Book: The Boy Who Slept Through Christmas
The Boy Who Slept Through Christmas is a children's book written by Matt Lucas. The book incorporates music, with 20 original songs written by Matt. The book features QR codes that allow readers to listen to the songs as they read. The concept of the book being a musical is inspired by Matt's love for musicals and his desire to create a stage musical in the future. The book explores themes of grief and the importance of cherishing the holiday season, especially for children experiencing their first Christmas without a loved one.
Matt's Personal Journey of Creativity
During the pandemic, Matt Lucas began writing songs, discovering his talent for songwriting and music. He learned to play the piano and started composing songs, initially remixing his own comedic song, 'Thank You Baked Potato,' to raise awareness about social distancing. The success of the song led to the creation of his first book, 'Thank You, Baked Potato.' This sparked Matt's interest in writing more songs and pursuing a career in musicals. The process of writing and recording songs became therapeutic for Matt, helping him navigate through a period of depression and inspiring him to further explore his creativity.
Matt's Childhood and Journey to Comedy
Matt Lucas reflects on his challenging childhood experiences, including attending a difficult secondary school and dealing with parental divorce, his father going to prison, and personal insecurities due to alopecia. Through these challenges, Matt discovered acting and comedy as an escape from his own identity, allowing him to develop a sharp sense of humor as a defense mechanism. He credits his father's love for comedy and exposure to comedic influences like Monty Python as shaping his passion for humor. Meeting David Walliams in his teenage years also played a vital role in fostering his fearlessness and confidence.
Matt's Reflections on Identity and Coming Out
Matt Lucas discusses his journey of self-discovery and coming out as gay. Growing up in a time when homosexuality was less accepted, Matt struggled with his identity and the fear of coming out to his father. He ultimately made the choice to conceal his sexuality, partly due to concerns about how it would impact their relationship. However, after his father's passing, Matt came out to his family and friends and embraced his identity. He reflects on the importance of understanding and acceptance, both within oneself and from society, and highlights the continuing need to support individuals struggling with their sexual identity.
Are you approaching the festive season without loved ones? Comedian, presenter, and author Matt Lucas has been thinking a lot about what it’s like to be grieving around this time of year.
In this chat with Fearne, Matt talks through some of the personal experiences that led him to write a children’s book about a boy who’s approaching Christmas without his mum. They also share that creativity has the ability to pull them out of depressions.
Plus, using parts of his own life as examples, Matt explains why we might need to think more about the prison population, and why it’s important to understand the back story of what it means to be gay in the UK.
Matt’s musical children’s book, The Boy Who Slept Through Christmas, is out now.