Mary Poppins is a story of taking practical steps towards happiness. It's looking at the bright side of life. It's setting boundaries, deciding what you want and making it happen. That's the path to being Practically Perfect For comedian Katy Brand, part of the joy of watching Mary Poppins as a child was the thrill of the film's iconic, no-nonsense heroine. Her unshakeable confidence, her staunch independence, and that touch of magic. Now she's all grown up, Katy takes another look beyond the talking umbrellas, bottomless bags and dubious cockney accents to show that Mary's still got something to teach us. She explores how the beloved nanny was brought to life from the page to the big screen, delves into her most striking memories to uncover themes that are still as important now as they were at the time, from women's rights and poverty, to toxic masculinity and work-life balance. With interviews and insights from famous fans and friends, Practically Perfect is the common-sense manual for life that we never knew we needed, and sprinkles some supercalifragilistic magic along the way. • Mary Poppins was the biggest hit that Walt Disney made during his lifetime. It remains the Disney film with the most awards today and is currently undergoing a huge revival with a film reboot and West End presence. • Award-winning writer and comedian Katy Brand explores how we can apply the messages from Mary Poppins to our everyday lives, covering themes as broad as the importance to mental health of keeping your bedroom tidy, our need for fantasy, the suffragettes, and the pressure on men having to fulfil an out-of-date ideal, when they just want to see their children and go fly a kite. • Katy Brand was the 2008 British Comedy Award winner for Best Female Comedy Breakthrough Artist. She has written for and appeared in numerous radio and TV shows from Radio 4's News Quiz to Channel 4's Peep Show. In 2020 she made her West End debut in 'Everybody's Talking About Jamie!' • Katy currently has 77k followers on Twitter. Competition: I Carried a Watermelon;Sunny Side Up;What Would The Spice Girls Do;Home Work: A memoir of my hollywood years;Cheer Up Love;Animal;Sex Power Money;Spectacles;Ayoade on top;As good as it gets. by;Susan Calman;Lauren Bravo;Julie Andrews;Sara Pascoe;Elton John;Sue Perkins;Richard Ayoade;Romesh Ranganathan
