South London Press catches up with Ruby Wax mid-way through her UK tour
By Paloma Lacy
South London Press caught up with Ruby Wax mid-way through her UK tour.
Croydon, she’s coming to get you on Friday June 7. Buckle up, it’ll be on heck of a ride.
Well known for decades in the UK as a comedienne, Ruby is 70 years old, with little sign of slowing down.
American by birth, she’s lived longer in the UK than anywhere else.
Conversation with Ruby is a bit like a rollercoaster. Her life has had its highs and lows and she’s open enough to walk me through what the past few years have been like for her.
The Ruby people may think they know from TV is outspoken, funny and fast paced. In person she is sweet, kind, warm and above all self-deprecating. It’s a joy to see past the public persona.
Her new book, I’m Not As Well As I Thought I Was, documents her recent mental health crisis.
Ruby said: “I began the book trying to find meaning by going on various, life-changing journeys – including living in a monastery and swimming with humpback whales – to find all and faith and compassion, you know, all that kind of stuff that would flip my shallow life.
“Checking into a mental health clinic wasn’t exactly on my radar in 2022. Writing about it wasn’t either. But here we are.”
2022 marked Ruby’s first serious depressive episode for 12 years.
She said: “I spent a lifetime trying to create a ‘front’ to give everyone the illusion that all is well. It wasn’t, and it isn’t. Now I look back and I think, ‘what the f*ck was that all about?’
“This is the story of what happened after the mental car crash . . . From then on, the journey had to turn inward.
“It turns out I wasn’t looking for meaning, I was looking for home.”
These days, trying to stay sane in a completely chaotic world makes life incredibly difficult, Ruby admitted.
Ruby views life on stage much like a sport – a chance to flex her brain. She loves filling the role of story teller and nowhere is she happier doing so than on stage.
Ruby Wax is on a UK-wide tour until the end of September 2024. Ruby Wax Tickets and Dates 2024.
Pictured top: Ruby Wax (Picture: Supplied by Ruby Wax)
Everyone at the South London Press thanks you for your continued support.
Former Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has encouraged everyone in the country who can afford to do so to buy a newspaper, and told the Downing Street press briefing:
“A FREE COUNTRY NEEDS A FREE PRESS, AND THE NEWSPAPERS OF OUR COUNTRY ARE UNDER SIGNIFICANT FINANCIAL PRESSURE”
If you can afford to do so, we would be so grateful if you can make a donation which will allow us to continue to bring stories to you, both in print and online. Or please make cheques payable to “MSI Media Limited” and send by post to South London Press, Unit 112, 160 Bromley Road, Catford, London SE6 2NZ
