Mind games
THE White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland is beckoning us into the story. Then comedian Sara Pascoe is rollerskating in a Lycra rainbow bodysuit. “I am the main character, this is my story. I’m going to destroy your faith in love,” says Sara, who plays a fictionalised version of herself in this self-penned sitcom.
It’s a completely mad, weird world, as we follow Sara in a comedy about a comedian making her own TV show about, well, herself. Are you keeping up?
As the character delves into her own terrible heartbreak, dealing with family and friends, it’s a bit like seeing a nervous breakdown played out on screen.
A lot of wine is drunk. Every now and again the characters reference the fact that they’re making a TV show.
Now and again, Sara reappears on her roller skates either to muse on what is happening or to give a scientific powerpoint presentation.
“Out Of Her Mind is a direct expression of my mind,” says the real Sara.
“We’ve turned my brain into a themepark, and everyone’s invited!”
It has a brilliant cast. Juliet Stevenson plays her mother, bitter after her husband had a fling with her friend.
Fiona Button plays her sister
Lucy, who is getting married – something Sara is not happy about.
And Cariad Lloyd is her friend Sarah, nicknamed Scoopy, who is having a baby – this news has also not been received well. Embittered by a back story of “exquisite pain and rejection”, Sara is convinced that “other people just ruin everything”.
As a result, she just seems to ruin everything…