Comedian Rachel Jackson on lockdown frustration and her new life in Northumberland

Scottish comedian and actress Rachel Jackson is loving her new life on the Northumberland coast.
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The 33-year-old moved to Berwick in November and is thoroughly appreciating the change in lifestyle it has brought – even with the difficulties presented by the Covid pandemic.

“I’m absolutely loving it,” said Rachel. “It’s such a beautiful place.

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"I’ve moved around quite a bit – I feel I must have gypsy blood – but I thought somewhere between Newcastle and Edinburgh, where I get quite a lot of gigs, would be perfect.

Rachel Jackson.Rachel Jackson.
Rachel Jackson.

"I’d only been to Berwick a couple of times before but I’m enjoying finding out more about it and the wider Northumberland area.”

Unfortunately, gigs have been thin on the ground over the past 10 months.

“It’s been a difficult period,” she admits. “My career was going well so I feel that’s been taken away from me a bit.

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"I’ve kept busy enough to keep paying the rent but the Zoom gigs and the live streams aren’t quite the same.”

Rachel is perhaps best known for her role in Beats, an Indie film about the 90s rave scene where acclaimed director Steven Soderbergh was executive producer.

However, she has also appeared in Scottish sitcoms Still Game, Two Doors Down and Scot Squad and is due to appear soon in ITV’s The Stand-Up Sketch Show.

Her stage show, Memoirs of a Bunny Boiler, debuted at the Edinburgh Festival, also went on to achieve critical acclaim at venues around the country.

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"I love the natural high you get from a live audience,” she said. “There’s no feeling like making a room full of people laugh and suddenly that part of your life has gone missing.

"I did a few shows at comedy clubs last summer in front of a lower capacity audience which was good fun.

"Obviously performing live feels some way off right now but I’m really look forward to the day it happens.”

For now though, Rachel is content to keep exploring what the local area has to offer.

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"I’m a keen runner and there are so many fantastic trails to explore,” she said. “The open space is wonderful.”

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