On my radar: Rosie Jones’s cultural highlights

Rosie Jones was born in 1990 and raised in Bridlington in Yorkshire. She started her career as a writer on TV panel shows, later appearing on many of them. She has cerebral palsy and has explored it in both her stand-up and in the 2023 Channel 4 documentary Am I a R*tard?. She also writes books for children. Now Jones has co-written and stars in Pushers, a black comedy on Channel 4 about a young woman with cerebral palsy who sets up a drug empire. Her stand-up show I Can’t Tell What She’s Saying tours from 9 September. 

Deadloch (Amazon Prime Video)

This is such a clever, weird little Australian TV show. It’s about a rural town in Tasmania where there is a murder, so they fly in two detectives. I found it refreshing because even 10 years ago, a silly caper comedy like this would have been headed up by two men – the women on police shows needed to be the serious ones. This is equality at its finest because it shows that women can be idiots too. There’s a second series that I’ve heard is even better than the first, so get on board now.

Mayhem by Lady Gaga

I am loving Lady Gaga’s new album. It reminds me of discovering her in my going-out era. In all her early songs, like Just Dance and Poker Face, there’s a beat that just gets into my body. Her new album takes me back to that. I was listening to How Bad Do U Want Me on repeat the other day; it’s so good. I want to say she’s back, which is ridiculous because she never went away, but she’s back to how she was at the beginning, and that makes me so excited.

Operation Mincemeat at the Fortune Theatre, London

I’ve just bought tickets to see Operation Mincemeat – for the fourth time. I’m a big fan of musical theatre and this is one of my favourites: the music is brilliant and the writing is hilarious. It’s about a real-life British plan to defeat Hitler. The show is on Broadway at the moment and I’m so excited to see the new cast in the West End – I’m a huge fan of Alex Young, who’s in it now. Also, it’s at the Fortune, which is one of those small West End theatres that you just know is haunted.

Riddle & Finns, King’s Road, Brighton

I adore seafood and this is one of my favourite places to eat it. Riddle & Finns have had a restaurant on the Lanes in Brighton for ages, but now they have one down on the beach as well. I went there recently with my girlfriend and we sat overlooking the sea at sunset having champagne and oysters. It was such a cliché, but I think back to that day – the mussels, scallops, prawns and tiramisu, the champagne, the vibe – and it was so perfect.

The Room Where It Happens, London

This musical theatre bar in Soho blew up online a few months ago, so if you want to go, reserve. It’s really small, there’s always a pianist playing musical theatre numbers, and everyone stands around the piano and sings – like something from the olden days. And everyone is so friendly. It’s probably the only place in London where I’d be happy to go on my own; you just end up talking to people. And there are always musical theatre performers popping in to have a sing-song.

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

This book was recommended to me by my mum. It’s a beautifully written story about a family with four daughters who go to live in central Africa, and how that move at such a young age affects each of them – how they deal with death, disability and religion. I love how each chapter is narrated by a different daughter. It’s heartbreaking at times; I cried a lot. And what a piece of shit the dad is! I still think about it every day. It’s amazing.