Читать книгу This Heart Within Me Burns - From Bedlam to Benidorm (Revised & Updated) - Crissy Rock - Страница 8

BY KEN SCOTT

I first met with Crissy Rock in the spring of 2009. Soon after our introduction, I watched her perform on stage at the UK Cabaret Bar in Benidorm on Spain’s Costa Blanca. Her performance onstage that evening was full of energy, her timing close to perfection, and she had the audience eating out of her hand. She was clearly at her brilliant best ad-libbing and verbally counter-punching with a few brave souls who dared to make their presence known to her. Her act was clearly not scripted and I likened her ease and confidence, her storytelling ability and her wisecracking to one of my favourite comedians, Billy Connolly.

A few days later, I agreed to work with Crissy over a trial period of one month, to see if we could pull together her life story into a marketable autobiography. She supplied me with 23,000 words of her musings and ramblings she’d collected over the years. I could see immediately that Crissy was dyslexic and had clearly struggled to construct the sentences and paragraphs. But shining through the pages like a beacon were the words of someone who could not only tell a story but also tell it sincerely and with an enormous amount of honest, raw emotion.

No matter how hard life had kicked Crissy Rock in the teeth, she always bounced back, and had the incredible ability to drag humour and positivity out of any situation, no matter how desperate or dire it seemed.

She told me modestly that she had done a little acting. Her award-winning performance in Ladybird Ladybird brought me to the verge of tears and I marvelled at her performances in such films and TV series as Dockers, Brazen Hussies, Springhill, Hero, Born to Run, Butterfly Collectors, Trial & Retribution, The Factory, Closure, Nice Guy Eddie and Night Collar as I watched many of them over and over again on DVD.

Her talents didn’t end with acting. When I visited her at her modest home in Benidorm, some amazing paintings adorned her walls, ones that I felt should be on display in galleries in London, Paris or New York. I commented that they must be worth a fortune and asked if she had insured them. She smiled as she pointed to the signature on each one: the moniker of Crissy Rock herself…

I watched more of her stage performances in Benidorm, and one night, at the end of her act, she broke out into a stunning rendition of ‘Simply The Best’ that floored the audience. As she finished, she turned to face them and said, ‘You didn’t know I could sing, did you?’

They didn’t. Neither did I.

Crissy Rock is a genius, of that there is no doubt. As I strive to perfect my chosen art of writing, she breezes through four skills – comedienne, actress, artist, writer – with consummate ease, an incredible achievement. However, what makes her so special are the barriers and obstacles she has had to overcome in order to succeed. She is undoubtedly one of the strongest characters I have ever had the pleasure to work with. For Crissy, this book was an enormous help in coming to terms with the demons that have plagued her throughout her lifetime. It not only represented closure for her, but also could demonstrate to others that, despite everything that life can throw at you, if you have the belief in your own ability and love the person inside, you can overcome anything. She is living proof of that.

I want her to know that I love her to bits and have enjoyed every second of her company during the construction of this quite remarkable book. Now that our project is complete, I hope our friendship continues and I have the chance to work with her again.