Loud-mouthed comedienne Ruby Wax may not be an obvious port of call for anyone seeking sensible advice on the subject of sanity – but on closer inspection she’s a choice that makes perfect sense.
Like one-in-four other members of the populace, Ruby has grappled with mental health issues, with bouts of depression, attacks of self-doubt and a suitcase full of neuroses.
Being the smart, brave and curious cookie that she is, she questioned the possibility of heading-off depression at the pass and now has some answers which she is sharing in a stage show entitled Sane New World and a bestselling book of the same name.
Armed with her wit, charisma and an MA from Oxford in mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, she brought that show to Aberdeen’s Music Hall on Saturday night where she soothed, entertained and educated a hugely receptive audience.
Ruby is not saying anything new, but she’s saying it in a new way and is bringing strategies for rediscovering sanity to those who might otherwise have missed the whole neuroscience and “mindfulness” renaissance.
She did a slide show presentation with headings handwritten in felt-tip, she used graphics that she coloured in at her kitchen table, she employed a yoga ball and cushions to help convey complex scientific ideas and wove it all together with hilarious, uplifting anecdotes about modern life.
Given that the slick, digitalised world we all inhabit now is partly to blame for our problems, Ruby’s mellow, low-tech approach was fitting, refreshing and reassuring.
The first half of the show was given over to discussing how our brains work and why humans are just not equipped to live in 2015.
The second half included dancing and a Q and A session in which Ruby engaged with “her people” – the one-in-four who may end up finding help in the most unlikely places.