Fast-paced, neurosis-fueled stand-up at its absolute finest
Eight years after first tackling her OCD on stage, Catherine Bohart is back at the Soho Theatre with a level of comic confidence that can only come from time, perspective, and a freshly signed mortgage. Her latest hour takes its name from her Catholic deacon father’s advice against “borrowing trouble”-a hilarious irony coming from a man who preaches eternal anxiety for a living, and a concept Bohart couldn’t ignore if she tried.
Bohart’s mind operates at a frantic, breakneck speed, and she invites the audience right into the middle of the chaos. From an opening salvo about her “uptight pelvis” to the late-night agony of misremembering a friend’s name, she turns hyper-fixation into an art form. The central thread of the evening revolves around her naive belief that buying a house with her girlfriend at 37 would finally grant her peace of mind and true adulthood. Naturally, it hasn’t-though it has given her a goldmine of material involving throuple neighbors, chaotic TV unboxings, and the inescapable realization that neurosis follows you wherever you unpack.
What makes the performance excel is the friction between Bohart’s cheery, Radio 4-honed charm and a decidedly sharper, pricklier edge. She takes aim at everything from pricey sperm donors and cynical queer weddings to dog lovers and her own audience members trying to compare OCD symptoms after the show. Yet every jab lands with warm-hearted precision; her innate empathy and self-awareness keep the room firmly on her side. Beneath the rapid-fire gossip and sharp crowd management lies a surprisingly tender look at love, partnership, and living with a noisy brain. Bohart may still be borrowing trouble, but she’s paying it off in pure comedic gold.
This show runs at Soho Theatre until 3rd October. Tickets here.