Meet the latest Hormonal Housewives

This long-running, no-holds-barred romp through the joys of being a fabulous 21st century woman heads for the Grand Opera House, York, on Wednesday night.

Under discussion in this rude, witty, topical three-hander sketch show will be: weight gain, weight loss, mood swings, moody teenagers, men, Zumba, therapy, housework, homework, electrolysis, men, sex, working out, staying in, going out, men, bikini waxes, celebrity gossip, eating, not eating, chocolate, wine, more chocolate, social media...and more wine.

"There are pillars of this show that are always there from when we started a decade ago," says Julie, who co-writes the script with husband John MacIsaac. "This is the fifth tour and I'm no older!

"What we try to do each time is change things up, make it topical, though the human condition never really changes. Whatever age you are, you're looking for someone to be with, or seeking validation."

The show takes in the different ages of women, not merely "hormonal housewives". "At one point, we play teenagers. Last time it was 'text speak' and Twitter; this time I had to research Instagram and Snapchat. Apparently Twitter is now 'something that your mother does'!" says Julie.

"At the other end of the age scale, we do a sketch where we're in an old people's home, where your desires haven't changed, your relationships with people haven't changed, you've just changed a little bit.

"I'm very much a naughty sprite by nature, and I hope to be like that always."

Julie is delighted with the latest Hormonal Housewives recruits: 'Allo, 'Allo! star Vicki Michelle and Josephine Partridge from Top Girls. "There are always a few names bubbling up, and when Vicki's name came up, you're thinking, 'wow, she looks amazing, she's so energetic, everyone knows her from 'Allo, 'Allo!', and it just made my heart soar because people love her,"says Julie.

"David [Janson], our director, knew Vicki, and she was game for doing the tour, doing 68 shows, so it's great to have her.

"Then, when my husband John went to the auditions, they were all knocked out by Josephine."

The latest tour has been on the road since May 21, and while you might expect the target audience to be women, men are more than welcome too. " We do have a dig at men in the show, but women have their foibles just as men have their foibles, and comedy is at its best when it's about how we rub up against each other," says Julie. "So, yes, we've had quite a few guys in to see the show."

In the ten years of Hormonal Housewives, some attitudes do not change, but they should, reckons Julie. "When you're a woman working in comedy, you're still up against it; still there are people saying women can't be funny," she says. "But just as there are men who are funny and men who aren't, it's the same with women."

As ever, the latest Hormonal Housewives takes the form of a linear sketch show linked together through a storyline, coupled with plenty of direct address to the audience.

In Julie's words, Hormonal Housewives always goes for belly laughs, not tragedy. "There are some subjects that are incredibly raw for people, like IVF or domestic abuse. It's good to take people on a rollercoaster ride, but you can't go volte face and do something too heavy," she says.

"People need a laugh right now, given what's happening. Our attitude is, let's send people out grinning from ear to ear."

Hormonal Housewives, Grand Opera House, York, Wednesday, 7.30pm. Box office: 0844 871 3024 or at atgtickets.com/york

* Vicki Michelle will return to the Grand Opera House to play Nymphadora, the Wicked Queen, in the pantomime Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs from December 12 to January 4 2020.

Charles Hutchinson