Brave comedian shares trauma
Genre: Drama
It takes a special kind of person to experience something traumatic, write a show about it and then proceed to play the lead role in the story, essentially reliving the entire experience.
Baby Reindeer is a show that was written, produced and starred in by Richard Gaff, detailing the traumatic story of how he was stalked by a mentally ill woman and sexually assaulted by his mentor in the entertainment industry.
Gadd plays Donny Dunn, a struggling comedian trying to make a name for himself.
He has a part time job as a bartender, where he meets Martha Scott (played by Jessica Gunning). She seems friendly and harmless at first and Donny is fascinated by her bubbly personality. What starts off as friendly interactions quickly turns into a scary stalker situation, with Martha stalking Donny on social media and sending him hundreds of emails every day.
Martha goes as far as stalking Donny’s ex-girlfriend and his parents. It is later revealed that Martha is a serial stalker and Donny is not her first victim.
The show also highlights the drug abuse and sexual abuse Donny suffers at the hands of Darrien (played by Tom Goodman-Hill). These scenes are graphic and may be triggering for sensitive viewers.
One of the factors that make the show so fascinating to watch is the knowledge that it all based on true events. While the descriptions of the characters are far from the real people they are based on, the actual details of the events depicted in the mini-series are close to Radd ’ s real life experience.
The way Radd wrote the story is an accurate portrayal of how abuse victims experience their trauma. There are elements of Stockholm syndrome that make it very difficult for victims to see the real harm in how they
are treated. This is evident in how Donny continuously returns to Darrien’s flat, despite feeling uneasy about being there and how he finds it difficult to report Martha for her behaviour towards him.
This show should be watched with caution as it will evoke feelings of anger, frustration, heartbreak, and general uneasiness.
Baby Reindeer depicts the suffering inflicted by abuse and the predatory nature of the entertainment industry.
Donny set out to fulfill his desire to be loved as a comedian, only to find himself addicted to the affection and attention he received from his stalker and abuser. is available for streaming on Netflix.