Call Me If You Feel Too Happy

Based on a true story, Sophie Pelham’s one-woman show about coping with bipolar disorder is sensitively disturbing and, surprisingly, also fantastically funny.

Laura and her family were in Sri Lanka when the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami hit. A man tried to thrust his child into her arms, but Laura could only run; she and her family escaped alive. For years afterwards, Laura could not hold a job for more than a week, she slept little and cried in front of the mirror, hating her repulsive self; she tried every self-help book and spiritual aid, but nothing could shake her extreme mood swings.

Arriving at the Priory, Laura is excited that she’ll “definitely get a celebrity boyfriend” and instantly declares, “I don’t want to go home.” Within minutes of observing the cell-like rooms and meeting her non-Hollywood doctor, though, she’s desperate to leave. A “How do you feel?” chat and over-simplified questionnaire later, Laura is diagnosed with bipolar disorder as well as post-traumatic stress and prescribed a cocktail of pills to make her better.

But what is better? The drugs may numb the lows, but they’ll also prevent the highs. Her psychiatrist says she can’t know her true personality until she’s stabilized, but can a mouthful of “magic pills” be an adequate goodbye to a personality she’s known for more than two decades? And what will other people think when they know she’s “mentally ill”?

Pelham, who co-wrote the play with Nicola Albon, is captivating as Laura, easily holding the audience’s attention for the full fifty minutes. She flits effortlessly between her character’s jokey, happy highs and heart-breaking insecurities, forcing those who watch to laugh aloud even while squirming within. Her impressions of The Priory inmates are howlingly hilarious, while the scenes with the psychiatrist will touch home with anyone who has ever felt depressed. The script is cleverly intricate and pacey, without attempting to take on too much for the limited time or space. This is a poignant and thought-provoking play that deserves an audience long after the Fringe.