Ruby Wax’s latest show, I’m Not As Well As I Thought I Was, is as visceral as it is hilarious, following Ruby’s deeply personal quest to find inner peace through an external to-do list that backfires — yet at the same time miraculously reconnects her with herself.
I’ve always wondered what a silent retreat would be like, and thankfully I don’t need to find out, as I lived and breathed 30 days of Ruby’s first mission, as if transported on an astral plane to complete the ordeal exactly as Ruby did. Ruby is an expert in articulating, with nuance, the chaos of trying to reconcile internal and external experiences that collide to shape how we perceive others and ourselves at any given moment. By crystallising the complexities these weather conditions create, the show becomes a lighthouse, laying down foundations to help us navigate life’s stormy waves, thanks to Ruby’s wit, wisdom, and willingness to publicly learn and unlearn an incredible number of lessons. We know things can get better, as we’re technically in the room together, looking back on the past that also feels intensely like the present.
The show returns to the stage after a sell-out 2023 run, and having missed it the first time around (probably due to undertaking a silent retreat of my own, also known as ‘remote working in the north of England’), I jumped at the chance to attend the last scheduled show at London’s Ambassadors Theatre before the kick-off of further regional tour dates.
The show is a masterclass in comedic and modern theatrical storytelling. It is a cyclical, powerful, and immersive performance, with bold staging, lighting, and sound design, followed by a short, sharp, and earnest real-world Q&A. This offers, with kindness, the opportunity to process further personal meaning and understanding from the show before we step back out into the outside world. In a complicated and unpredictable external world, there can be a constant if we can find home in ourselves and with each other.
Ruby Wax's show ‘I'm not as well as I thought I was' continues its UK tour until 2 December 2024 and is produced by Impatient Productions. Tickets can be booked here https://rubywax.seetickets.com/tour/ruby-wax. The book of the same name is available here https://www.amazon.co.uk/Im-Not-Well-Thought-Was/dp/0241554896
