Postcards From The Abyss: Falling over the edge – and how to get back

 

Clem Bastow is a beautiful, successful music critic – so what has she got to be depressed about? This, we will find out in Bastow’s Fringe debut, is one of the things not to say to a depressed person. The one woman show aims to cover her recent annus horribilis, and in doing so take the audience on a journey into what it means to live with this debilitating mental illness. Quite a tough call for a comedy show.

Melbourne Fringe Festival 2010
Bar Open, 317 Brunswick Street

Friday 1 October 2010

Clem Bastow is a beautiful, successful music critic – so what has she got to be depressed about? This, we will find out in Bastow’s Fringe debut, is one of the things not to say to a depressed person. The one woman show aims to cover her recent annus horribilis, and in doing so take the audience on a journey into what it means to live with this debilitating mental illness. Quite a tough call for a comedy show.

However, Bastow’s easygoing demeanour and ability to laugh at her depression allows for some fascinating insights into what is a prevalent, yet often hidden, disorder that affects a staggering proportion of Australians, roughly 20% of whom will be affected by depression at some point in their lives.

Here is where it gets interesting, for many who have never experienced depression it is near impossible to understand how it feels – hence the list of ‘What not to say to a depressed person’.  How can you have a cool job, be engaged and also suffer from depression? Surely you will snap out of it with a good meal? Yet for those who have, Bastow’s brave, honest and witty account of her journey with ‘the black dog’ will resonate strongly.

Clever visual aids bring light-hearted relief to the material and Bastow’s music background is put to good use with wonderful sound clips providing both soundtrack and punch lines.

The rawness of the show somehow adds to the veracity of Bastow’s storytelling, allowing us to laugh alongside the sadder and more traumatic episodes she has lived through. Yet, in a comedian’s hands – as opposed to the writer that she is – the same material could become truly hilarious.  The feeling here is of a series of anecdotes told by an articulate, clever and vulnerable woman. I’d love to see a bit of polish and focus on the comedy, as opposed to the series of amusing vignettes illustrating what it is like to live with depression.

Postcards from the Abyss is an accomplished and incredibly brave solo show which treads the uneasy line between depression and comedy with great humour, sensitivity and, for the most part, resounding success.

Bookings: www.melbournefringe.com.au

Until Sunday 3 October 2010