Despite what Catherine Bohart tells us in This Isn’t For You, she is more emotionally articulate than she gives herself credit for. We won’t know whether this is a side-effect of having written this particular show, but it is clear that Bohart knows her place in the world and where she stands in life.
A natural storyteller
Completely dismissing loving yourself as for Americans, Bohart shows us within this hour that she is very aware of her flaws, so however she terms it, Bohart is clearly comfortable with who she is. Never does Bohart come across as bitter, and on the surface she seems almost calm and self-deprecating, but she voices pretty reasonable ideas in terms of relationships and progression in life. Giving advice about lying smaller and handymen, Bohart brings us up to speed with her life since the pandemic. The sheer amount that she is able to fit into the set gives her an almost frazzled appearance, but what becomes clear is that Bohart doesn’t need to be coddled, or given advice on how to live ‘her best single life’.
Her comedy is a mix of outrage and general mockery. She has lived enough to know what’s what, form concrete opinions on some things and learn something new, like the point of men (her words). Bohart doesn’t come across as nihilistic, in fact, a point she makes over and over again, is that she cares too much. She is just someone who has had to adapt to a completely new situation while the world was falling apart and Bohart has done incredibly well if she can now stand in front of us and laugh about it. A natural storyteller, Bohart has an incredible friendliness, warmth, and yes, the Irish lilt helps, but all this plus the serenity that she carries with her makes her the perfect person to just explain why things are the way they are.
Bohart names the drafts of her set as smug, breakdown, and better. Whilst each draft is represented in the final show, it is hard to believe that there is a world where Bohart could either come across as smug or having a breakdown. If anything, This Isn’t For You is proof that Bohart is and will be okay.
