vinegarOlo performers at the Edinburgh Fringe are collectively taking on one of the most self-destructive illnesses: body dysmorphia. Next weekend, the female comedians — from self-confessed users of weight-loss drugs to compulsive dieters to multiple plastic surgeries — will battle the damage caused by the pressure to be thin. Over the course of a series of shows, they’ll hold up a mirror first to themselves, and then to society at large.
“Like a lot of people, I thought life would begin once I got to a healthy weight, and then when I lost the weight, I wondered why I still didn’t feel good,” says Michelle Shaughnessy, 40, author of the acclaimed and unwavering new Canadian show. It was too late, baby“I didn’t want to talk about it at my age because I thought people would think it’s a young woman’s problem and that it should be something bigger, but I’m still not reconciled to this,” she said, revealing her addiction to the controversial weight-loss drug semaglutide.
Shaughnessy acknowledges the ridiculousness of these anxieties, placing much of the blame on commercial advertising. The festival also features female comedians who once considered their bodies a danger to others, and some who have recently been diagnosed with body dysmorphic disorder.
“I just assumed everyone felt that way,” says Hannah Platt, 31. “I always felt like the way I looked didn’t suit me, that the way I looked made other people feel uncomfortable, even insulted. Then I was diagnosed with body dysmorphic disorder. So at my debut show in Edinburgh, Defense MechanismIt’s really fun to make the audience laugh and let their guard down.”
Struggles with body image can start at an early age. Growing up in Liverpool, Pratt recalls being told she was “ugly” by boys in her class and absorbing the message. “When I think back to the shows I watched on TV as a child, America’s Next Top ModelWhen you see people criticizing beautiful women, it just goes to show that the ’90s was a bad time to grow up.”
“I was bullied at school,” admits Shaughnessy, who is praised for his comedic talents but never learned to accept himself, “and back then it was still okay to laugh at fat people. But when I looked back at photos of myself on this show, I wasn’t as big as I remembered. In my mind, I was huge.”
This resulted in a string of cosmetic procedures throughout her adult life, from Botox and liposuction to surgery. “I’d been yo-yo dieting my whole life and I was tired of it. Once I’d reached my goal, I’d just go back to eating normal. So I jumped straight into Ozempic. It was the first time I’d ever not obsessed with food. A year ago, I wouldn’t have felt bad about it, but if I’d been honest about my body shape, I might not have been prescribed Ozempic. At first, the weight would slowly fall off and I’d feel good, but then when I reached my goal weight, I thought maybe I could get even smaller.”
Pratt and Shaughnessy will perform at the Fringe at Pleasance Courtyard and Underbelly Bristol Square respectively, alongside Olivia Levin, a Brooklyn, New York native who suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder. Her show is Get unstuckThe show, which will be performed at Just the Tonic’s The Mash House, confronts the physical self-loathing Levin felt as an adolescent, when he believed his body was tainted and capable of harming others.
Another Brooklyn production, a theater show 3 HamThe 20th Anniversary, which is also showing at the same venue, tackles a similar issue, telling the story of two friends who bond over their own struggles with eating disorders and work together to overcome an unhealthy relationship.
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If these mental health issues were caused by cruel words heard in her childhood, working in the entertainment industry later in life doesn’t help. Pratt enjoys dressing up in real life and on stage, but she has been criticized for her love of clothing. “Some comedians say I shouldn’t dress like this when I talk about my depression, they say they don’t believe me. But while I can never accept compliments about my appearance, my clothes are something I can control and my clothes represent who I am as a person.”
Pratt argues that male comedians don’t get the same recognition. “You can be ugly, smart and funny – even gross,” she says. “Audiences sometimes don’t like it when I say I find them unattractive. They don’t want to accept it because it seems so hard for me as a woman.”
For Pratt, the condition is now manageable, but Shaughnessy said she plans to cope by keeping healthy foods on hand during the festival. “Eating processed foods definitely makes me feel depressed,” she said. “I have control issues, and I think that’s something people of all ages can relate to, so I wanted to make a show that’s honest about all of this.”
