Catherine Bohart: Borrowing Trouble review – obsessive compulsion to overshare is captivatingly funny

Catherine Bohart's latest stand-up hour, "Borrowing Trouble," currently showing at London's Soho Theatre, offers a profoundly personal and hilariously insightful journey into the Irish comedian's experiences with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Bohart, a 38-year-old comedian who has previously discussed her mental health, confronts the potential audience perception that discussions of mental health can be dull. She posits that her justification for delving into her OCD lies in the rich, hard-won humour she extracts from the subject, coupled with her signature candour. For Bohart, whose condition is evidently all-consuming, to omit it from her performance would feel like a form of dishonesty, a stance that would be "off-brand" for her established comedic persona.

"Borrowing Trouble" chronicles several significant developments in Bohart's life. She recounts fulfilling a common Irish ambition: purchasing her first home. This major life event necessitates moving in with her girlfriend, a situation that inevitably amplifies her compulsion for control. Faced with these pressures, Bohart explores various coping mechanisms, including the prospect of changing therapists – she mentions having gone through four previous ones – and the idea of discontinuing her antidepressant medication, a suggestion met with a less-than-reassuring response from her doctor. The show also features a poignant exploration of her family dynamics, particularly her relationship with her parents, who she humorously frames as embodying her "symptoms." An extended visit home provides an eye-opening anecdote where her mother exhibits intrusive concern for Catherine, while her father displays behaviours that hint at a potential familial predisposition to obsessive compulsions, suggesting these tendencies might be inherited.

Bohart's approach in "Borrowing Trouble" is defined by a raw, unflinching honesty. She transforms the often-difficult and isolating nature of OCD into captivatingly funny material, making her deeply personal narrative accessible and engaging. The performance at the Soho Theatre solidifies her reputation for delivering sharp, witty, and often self-deprecating observations that resonate with contemporary audiences increasingly open to discussions about mental health. Her ability to mine humour from her own struggles makes "Borrowing Trouble" a standout piece of observational comedy.