Lady Like

Susan Calman stands before a home-town crowd in a tailored waistcoat, bouncing around the stage to explain why she isn’t a huge fan of herself. The former corporate lawyer and Radio 4 regular uses a conspiratorial delivery to detail her struggles with depression and a nervous breakdown brought on by homophobic hate mail. Rather than a bleak confessional, the set remains fundamentally upbeat. She pairs her mental health realities with physical act-outs about her lack of fitness, her obsession with cats, and the quiet dignity of eating Viennetta in her underwear.

Filmed at the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow, Lady Like marked Calman’s first UK tour and debut release, put out by Go Faster Stripe in 2015. The set is anchored by highly specific anecdotes, including a routine where she outlines the unromantic administrative reality of upgrading her civil partnership to a legal marriage. Critics praised the hour for its warmth, noting her ability to pull an audience from a nervous hush over the topic of mental illness straight into a punchline.