TV STAR Ruby Wax is backing a Redditch Council drive to reduce mental health discrimination as part of the Time to Change campaign.
The wise-cracking funny girl herself suffered from depression but after a two-year study break into the cognitive processes of the mind is back with a brand new show at the Palace later this month.
“I’m really interested in the mind and why we do the things we do and all the pressures we are under, because we’ve gone from being cave dwellers to today and we’re simply not equipped for this century,” she says.
Her battle with depression is off limits but the positive outcome of it are there for all to see – she has worked for many mental health charities, is a university visiting professor in mental health nursing and was awarded OBE for her work in mental health.
And if all that sounds a bit heavy, relax, because Ms Wax is as sharp and as funny as ever.
“I’m not political but I am a good comedy writer and, having had a change in career through studying it’s given me a world of new material for the show,” she says.
“There’s so much fear in the world these days. In times past you knew if your neighbour was having an affair and that was it, now you know what’s happening halfway around the world and as a result we’re all suffering from information overload.”
This will be her second visit to Redditch and this time her show will be based on her critically acclaimed book, Sane New World, which offers a path to inner peace in very her own inimicable style.
The show’s second half will open up to the audience, giving them the chance to speak out about what gets them down.
“People can stand up and say something about their lives and get it off their chest – and believe me they do. It’s a human thing, the art of communication, something that we’ve lost,” says Ruby.
Ruby Wax, Sane New World is at the Palace Theatre, Redditch, on Thursday, October 29 at 7.30pm. Tickets are £20.75 from the box office, on 01527 65203 or online at www.redditchpalacetheatre.co.uk/
