“I was supposed to go to Oxford University,” Juliette Burton tells me, “but didn’t because instead of taking my A Levels I was sectioned under the mental health act. I was in hospital five times during my teenage years so that kind of scuppered my education.
“I realised early on people are more likely to listen if they’re laughing. It’s a great equaliser. So let’s laugh together”
“Instead of studying law or English literature at Oxford, in a roundabout way, I found a route to Oxford via my comedy career.”
A huge inspiration to her legions of fans for her openness as well as her trademark wit, Juliette Burton is certainly going places, and her new show Defined, coming to OFS next week, will only enhance that.
“I’ve performed at OFS for quite a few years now ahead of each Edinburgh Fringe but this is the first time I’ll be performing there with a touring show,” she says.
“COMEDY HAS THE POWER TO BREAK DOWN BARRIERS, CHANGE MINDS AND HELP OTHERS FEEL LESS ALONE”
So why does comedy work for her? “My audience is the reason I get out of bed. Comedy is the reason I’m alive,” Juliette Burton, tells me simply.
“It helps me feel like all the years I’ve devoted to this career and all the years I’ve struggled with my illnesses are all worthwhile, like I’ve created a little family with whom I can belong for the duration of this particular show, maybe online on social media afterwards and maybe at future shows too.
“Hearing a group of strangers laugh in recognition of my experiences, hearing them relax, seeing them enjoy themselves means I feel worthwhile. Hearing people’s stories after the shows is also just as amazing, if not more so. Even when all of us feel alone none of us are.
Her new show Defined deals with labels, especially those around mental health. “Labels frustrate me,” Juliette Burton tells me. “We are so quick to define each other with simplistic terms when we’re complicated, nuanced entities.”
“The most beautiful thing we can be is kind and the sexiest thing we can be is funny. That’s how I aspire to be”
“I’ve been labelled as a mental health comedian and in this show I wanted to liberate myself from that. I wanted to be seen as simply me.
“The most beautiful thing we can be is kind, and the sexiest thing we can be is funny. That’s how I aspire to be. Although I’m starting to refuse to be defined. Once we’re defined we cease to grow. And I never want to stop growing, bettering myself, reaching my potential.
“Some people define themselves by where they’re from. I’ve never felt like I belonged so that definition didn’t fit. Some people define themselves by how they look. I’ve never felt comfortable in my own skin so that definition didn’t fit. Some define themselves with words like “success” or “failure” or “optimist” or “pessimist” or “introvert” or “extrovert”. Yet I feel like I’m all those things at once and so much more.”
“I constantly strive to find the funny every single day”
Complex ideas then for a stand up show? “I think comedy can not only can handle complex ideas but must also tackle them. Comedy has the power to change minds and open people to new perspectives. Laughter is simple and something we learn to do before we can talk. It communicates so much more than words,” she says.
To demonstrate what she means, Juliette adds: “I’ve been labelled with 12 different mental health conditions and I was labelled as sectioned aged 17. I was labelled as a failure (by myself) or fragile (by others).”
Comedy offered her a new avenue to express this: “I constantly strive to find the funny every single day. In every dark moment – and there are many in my mind – finding the light is a survival technique. Any time something makes me laugh or raises a smile, even only the idea of the potential for a smile inwardly, I write it down. Just in case.”
“But in this new show I just wanted it to be crammed with as many jokes as possible. Because I adore laughter. This is by far and away the most joke-packed show I’ve ever created.”
And while female comedians are on the up, Juliette still finds it a frustrating subject: “While I want everyone to celebrate women and our potential, all we’ve achieved and all we’re striving for, I’m frustrated by the fundamental misunderstanding of what comedy is and what gender is.
“Comedy comes from a relief of tension, comedic instinct doesn’t come from our genitals. Although genitals can be funny sometimes,” she says.
So is it harder to talk about mental health through comedy? “I talk openly about my mental health conditions because there’s nothing to be ashamed or scared of. I don’t fear people’s responses because we all have mental health just like we all have physical health. It isn’t cathartic but it is empowering.
“But gradually over the years my material turns towards the comedy I find in my mental health history and the challenges I still have on a day to day basis.
“I realised early on people are more likely to listen if they’re laughing. It’s a great equaliser. So let’s laugh together about it.
“Comedy has the power to break down barriers, change minds and help others feel less alone. I’ve devoted myself to it for that reason. The opposite of depression isn’t happiness. The opposite of depression is purpose. And making people laugh gives me purpose.
Does stand-up exacerbate her anxiety though? “No, standing alone on a stage is the one place where I can truly relax. It’s a sink or swim scenario and I’ve learnt to trust myself that I will swim, one way or another. I find it empowering.
Comedy can be humbling; but it constantly teaches me to be better, lures me away from hubris, and gives me a hunger to master the craft.
“It’s a risk, sure, but my anxiety then has a purpose, so If I have a way of channelling that into something useful to other people, that’s a better use of my excess energy. And if I’m struggling with depression, then to be able to meditatively put my make up on, get out on stage and hear laughter in response, then for a short while my depression is paused. For a short while I’ve stuck two fingers up at whatever conditions is troubling me and said “you’re not going to get the better of me, not today.”
“I need a reason to put in the huge effort it takes to deal with all the cast of characters in my head – the mental health conditions that whisper disordered thoughts in my ear like “you’re worthless, you’re nothing, why bother?” and knowing an audience is out there waiting for me to turn up and make them laugh is the most incredible motivation to put that effort in.”
And then she smiles: “I’d say comedy is a compulsion, but it’s the healthiest one I have. And it creates something useful and helpful to others. So it’s a creative, positive compulsion. At least that’s what I tell myself.”
Juliette Burton brings her new show Defined to The Old Fire Station, OXFORD on Tuesday March 10. Box Office: 01865 263 990 or http://oldfirestation.org.uk
