Ruby Wax talks mental health in her new show ‘Sane New World’

Sane New World: Ruby Wax

Harpenden Public Halls

November 17, 8pm. Tickets cost £20

ON the day Ruby Wax hit the alternative comedy scene in the 1980s she became an instant favourite with the crowds.

The US-born comedienne and writer started out as an actor at the Royal Shakespeare Company and has since gone on to write and perform in her own television shows.

In April this year she was awarded an OBE for her services to mental health and it is the lessons from her battle with clinical depression which has helped to inform her show ‘Sane New World’.

Talking about the production earlier this year, she said: “Sometimes when I walk down a street, I watch people I’m passing, all zipped up in their own self-made universe; planning, worrying, scheming, hoping and fantasizing.

“I wonder what the reality they’re carrying in those six cubic inches on top of their necks is? What TV show starring them are they watching?

“Whether they’re deep in conversation with someone on their phone or thinking to themselves in their head, they seem completely unaware there is anything happening outside their world.

“We on the outside are detritus they have to negotiate past so we don’t block their route.

“I’ve never managed to lock eyes with someone who’s looking at me the way I’m looking at them, someone’s who’s curious and thinking what I might be thinking?

“I really don’t remember anyone looking up at me with curiosity, it’s usually a look of ‘What the hell are you looking at, weirdo?”

As a patron of the British Neuroscience Association, Ruby has campaigned hard on mental health issues.

During the her show she will invite the audience to share their own experiences and build a network of support and advice.

She will also be appearing at a number of mental health conferences this year, including the National Mindfulness Conference and joining keynote speakers such as the Dalai Lama.