Rachel Morton-Young on being a British mum overseas

As she embarks on her first in-person Edinburgh Fringe with Organised Chaos, we chat to Netherlands-based British comedian Rachel Morton-Young about parenting foreign kids and her late entry into the comedy scene...

Your show is about your life as a British parent in the Netherlands - how did you get to this point?

I've lived in the Netherlands for 25 years, so my kids were born and bred in this country. Since I started doing comedy 6 years ago, my kids and my experiences as a Mum have often been an inspiration for my comedy sets, especially as I'm a very disorganised parent and schools are so different over here. I mean which mother accidentally takes the wrong child to a medical appointment? And do kids in the UK have to make vulvas from cake for school projects? So when it came to writing my first solo show, it made sense to talk about my life as a scatty, chatty mum and living with a different language and culture.

We've not baked anything like that ourselves, no...! You're a latecomer to comedy then? What turned you to stand-up?

Yes, I started comedy in my 40s, although I'd wanted to do it since I was a teenager. I remember on the bus to college sitting up front, taking the microphone and trying to make everyone laugh. I grew up watching comedy and was hugely inspired by many comics, including Victoria Wood and Eddie Izzard. As an adult I'd go and watch live comedy shows frequently, increasingly wishing I was on the stage rather than in the audience. But I was just too scared to take the step as I'd convinced myself it was a stupid idea.

The turning point came at a school open day where they gave the parents a taster lesson on designing and executing projects. We all had to write a bucket list of things we wanted to do before we die, and I wrote "Stand-Up Comedy" (not knowing we'd have to share our list with the other parents). When it came to sharing our lists, everyone in my group was so enthusiastic about my dream - in fact they all picked mine to work on, wrote the project plan for me and volunteered to present it to the rest of the class! I went home with this A3 paper in my hand with the plan all drawn out for me and thought, why not? I then immediately proceeded to book courses, buy books, apply for open mics and I was hooked!

How long ago was that? You've since won a rather prestigious-sounding prize at the World Wide Comedy Awards...

That was nearly 7 years ago. Since I started doing comedy, I've not stopped. I signed up to all the open mics I could and travelled around the country doing spots (I was lucky to be working for the railways at the time, so I got free first-class travel throughout the Netherlands). During lockdown, when I couldn't perform, I did some online courses, joined writing groups and did a lot of comedy on Zoom. I even did an Edinburgh Fringe run online, with 2 friends. And that's when I got contacted by the World Wide Comedy Awards, who'd seen me performing online and nominated me for an award, which I then went on to win. It's not as prestigious as most comedy awards, but it was nice to get some recognition, especially during those times!

Is there a big take-away from Organised Chaos? What can audiences expect exactly?

There are two key themes to my show: parenting teenagers; and living abroad, dealing with a different environment, language and culture to where I grew up (the New Forest). I think the main take-away from the show is that you shouldn't take life too seriously. I talk about getting older and trying to deal with modern technology, but I'll never feel like a "grown-up"!

This show will certainly resonate with parents, but you don't have to be a parent to find it relatable. Being a parent isn't about being perfect; it's about being present. We see so many people on social media nowadays portraying the image that they have everything sorted and totally together. For me, being a mum isn't like that, I'm winging it and that's OK (we all are really!). The show also has a message about embracing cultural differences and adapting to unfamiliar situations; it has been fun to take a step back and think about what it means to be British, living in a more open and tolerant country.

What advice would you give to your younger self if you could: both on parenting, and on comedy?

On parenting I'd say that there is no perfect way; we can do everything wrong and it's still alright. Find your own path; it's about having fun, being in the moment and having an honest and open relationship with your kids. On comedy, I'd tell my younger self to just get out there and do it, because I deliberated for too long before starting out. Remember we tend to regret the things we don't do far more than the things we do do (well, in most cases...)!