Janey

This film follows Janey Godley, one of Britain’s leading comedians, on her 2023 Not Dead Yet tour, after her diagnosis of terminal cancer. Janey is touring with her best mate Shirley and her daughter, comedian Ashley Storrie, who are almost as funny and frank as she is. As Janey tours the country, we intercut her stand-up show with the story of her extraordinary life, told with her trademark take-no-prisoners honesty and dark humour.

Janey grew up in poverty in Glasgow’s East End. Her mother was an alcoholic and, as a child, Janey was sexually abused by her uncle. She tells the story of her mother's horrific murder when Janey was 21, revisiting the river where her body was found.

At age 19, Janey married into a notorious family of Glasgow gangsters, running a successful pub for them with her husband. Janey had always been funny, and when she and her husband fell out with his family, Janey reinvented herself as a comedian.

We see Janey protesting Donald Trump’s visit to Scotland in 2016, and during Covid, Janey was one of the few glimmers of cheer in Scotland, with her brilliant revoicings of Nicola Sturgeon’s press conferences. However, her success led to the uncovering of historic racist tweets, which seemed at the time career-ending. Janey talks unsparingly about her guilt and shame, and meets up with old friend Jimmy Carr at the Edinburgh Festival to discuss this and the wider issues around cancel culture.

Throughout the film, Janey deals with the grim reality of Stage 3 cancer, along with the highs and lows of touring. The film culminates in an emotional show at Glasgow's 3,000-seater SEC Armadillo.