Interview: Catherine Bohart

Catherine Bohart is the bisexual, OCD daughter of an Irish Catholic deacon – and she’s got a hell of a lot to say about it.

She’s also a writer on Radio 4 comedy The Now Show, featured on last year’s BBC New Talent Hotlist, and got some warm reviews at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe for her autobiographical debut show Immaculate (“the word ‘personable’ doesn’t begin to capture the easy, assured, mild-mannered charm she exudes,” enthused Chortle. “That natural charisma will be a firm foundation on which to build a sturdy comedy career.”).

Catherine performs at Indigo, a social, networking & cultural space for lesbian / LBTQ+ women, on October 18. Ahead of her Bristol visit, we grabbed a quick chat.

Was it always obvious that you’d write an autobiographical show for your debut? Might you have gone into political and/or relationships comedy, like so many comics do, or was it always clear to you that you’d want to write a show about your own life and its very particular conditions?
To me it was always obvious. My show is about things I’ve been discussing or trying to discuss on stage since I began comedy. This show felt like the right way to bring them all together and also maybe close them as chapters.

What are the rewards, and the risks / challenges, of writing such personal, confessional comedy?
The reward is being able to laugh at something that at the time maybe wasn’t funny or was even painful, that is cathartic and a real relief. Also, up at Edinburgh I had at least one person a day come and speak to me or message me after the show about how it resonated with them or represented some part of their experience they hadn’t seen onstage before and that’s an incredible feeling.
The challenge, in my case, was to recognise that I wasn’t just telling my story, but a story with wider ramifications – and to be clear and respectful of the fact that it was my perspective. Also, when something is personal and people don’t like it (and not everyone can like it), that can feel like a rejection – so you have to be able to have some distance from it.

How do you look back on your childhood now, and would you wish for anything to have been different?
My childhood was amazing. I wouldn’t wish for anything to have been different.

How do you think a) your sexuality and b) your OCD have impacted on your comedy – both on your style and material, and how easy you’ve found it thus far?
They have impacted in content rather than style, in that I speak about them and to that end perhaps my comedy is more specific than it might have been.
I do think being different in any number of ways can help a comic, though, as it often means that at some point you’ve had to be self-analytical – and that self-analysis is what comedy is.

Anything at all that you hope audiences take from the show? Or do you just want them to have a good laugh and a good night out?
First and foremost, I want them to laugh, that’s my job. As for what they take away, I imagine that’s different depending on the audience member. I think when comics try to prescribe a take away message it can be a little cheesy.

Is OCD still a largely misunderstood condition?
I think OCD is a strange one because, while ubiquitous in a lot of media, it is still largely misunderstood and misrepresented. I don’t think anyone wilfully misunderstands it, but it is so often poorly painted as hand-washing and “keen to clean” on reality shows that it’s not seen as the debilitating and complex illness it actually is. That’s most unfortunate because it stops people who need it getting help.

“She jokes about the confused cultural baggage that bisexuality brings with it” – can you tell us any more about that?
My show definitely tackles the strange suppositions and disbelief that outing yourself as a bi person can be met with. A lot of open-minded people who can understand gay and straight as categorisation still can’t quite do that with bisexuality. I try to have some fun with that and make it more understandable.

Indigo ft. Catherine Bohart Thursday, Oct 18, The Square Club, 15 Berkeley Square, Bristol BS8 1HB. For more info and to book tickets, visit www.indigonetwork.co.uk/2018/08/26/indigo-ft-catherine-bohart