Fringe preview: Juliette Burton

Juliette Burton is an award-winning comedian who has dealt with mental health issues her entire adult life. William Gadsby Peet discusses anxiety and kindness in a quick-fire Q&A ahead of her performance at the Guildford Fringe

  • You’ve battled acute anxiety and social anxiety disorder, how hard is it to overcome that anxiety, stand up in front of strangers and make them laugh?

It's actually a completely different form of anxiety for me. Sure I get a rush of nerves and adrenalin before a show, but that's a rush I enjoy, I love it otherwise I wouldn't do it. Standing up in front of strangers and making them laugh is easier for me to do than facing real life. It's a way of drawing people closer but also keeping them at a safe distance. My anxiety disorder means I struggle with the parts of life I can't predict, whereas on stage I've constructed a whole hour where I kind of know what's going to happen. I feel more relaxed performing than I do when I'm not.

  • How far have we come as a society in dealing with mental health issues and how much further do we have to go?

Here in the UK, we've come a long way since I remember first being diagnosed in my early teens. But there's still so much stigma. When I was first diagnosed I was told I was attention-seeking. I still hear that. Thing is, my mental health conditions are illnesses, I don't have them for attention. I perform comedy for attention. People with mental health conditions don't hire venues and print posters with their faces on advertising it.

The number of people talking about mental health has risen but that doesn't seem to be changing stigma fast enough, for me. I still hear casual slurs like being called a "psycho" when I mention being sectioned at the age of 17, being asked "when did you get better?" when it's an ongoing illness for me, being told "you don't look ill" when I come off stage, or "I wish I had anorexia", or "I'm a very tidy person so I'm a bit OCD", or "Have you tried not being sad?" These are all things I hear regularly which remind me we have to get braver in talking about mental health and braver in asking questions about conditions we don't understand.

Like sexism, racism and disablism we will only move forward if we listen to other people's experiences and accept what they tell us as being real. We're all facing battles no one else knows anything about so why not be kind to each other?

  • Butterfly Effect explores kindness, what made you focus on that topic?

Last year I felt like the whole world had gone a bit bleak. And my own world wasn't that much better. I felt powerless over it all. So I decided to focus on the one power that I know I still had: how I treat other people. So, I did random acts of kindness every single day to see whether it could change the world, or ­at least other people's worlds, or maybe my own world just a little bit.

I quickly realised though that there's a lot of problems with being kind! You get to find out what problems I faced in the show and using hidden camera footage, animation, audio and visual projection, you get to see the japes and capers I got myself into.

Being kind is something I was always taught to do, but only thanks to writing this show have I realised the kind of power it can have. It really can save lives.

  • It enjoyed a sold out run at the Edinburgh Fringe, why do you think it resonated so well with people?

A lot of people feel like me; wondering whether they have any power in the world, wondering where all the hope has gone and what they can do to make a difference. This show, I hope, helps to answer some of that.

Edinburgh Fringe was wonderful last year. It was my third sold out run there in a row, with extra shows added due to demand. Good word of mouth counts for so much and that helped, for sure.

But the great reviews, the sold out shows all mean nothing without a lovely audience to join me at the next show. And I can't wait to come to Guildford Fringe again – the crowds there are always so receptive and up for it. I'm excited to return with a finished, polished show too.

  • What do you hope people will take away from the show?

I want audiences to feel empowered and entertained. And to follow me on social media! But most of all I want them to leave knowing they can do something positive to change things for the better. This show proactively invites audience members to #DareToBeKind. So come prepared with kind things we could all do, up for a fun night and above all, ready to laugh!

Juliette Burton performs Butterfly Effect at the Star Inn on July 7. For more information and to book tickets (£7), visit: guildfordfringefestival.com

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