Wild at heart

Launching a mixed-media comedy show, Scout Boxall tackles everything from manic episodes to dolphin sex. Jay Richardson hears from an act who is unafraid of putting it all out there

‘I’m the original nepotism baby!’, Scout Boxall reflects drily, on inheriting her bipolar disorder from a grandmother and celebrating her 18th birthday in a psychiatric hospital. Despite growing up with a theatre background, the Melbourne comic has absorbed her training into the directness of stand-up (‘this sounds so wanky, but it’s the least mediated artform’) to open up about a hugely formative moment in her life with an ambitious, multimedia show entitled Buck Wild.

Blending the lyrically anecdotal, PowerPoint and music, the show has ‘some really dark points, including suicide survival’, she acknowledges. But there are also thoughts on Formula One and dolphin sex. ‘I’m here, I’m OK, I’m actually thriving,’ she stresses. ‘Being present with a crowd makes them way more comfortable. And you can adjust to the room, which is why this isn’t a full-blown theatre show. That, and I didn’t have the budget.’

Having only begun comedy in 2018 and benefiting from ‘uninhibited naivety’, Boxall has developed quickly on the back of some glowing reviews, and was unprepared for the mental toll Buck Wild would take in terms of performing. And besides, this is only her second full show. ‘I really was setting myself a lot of challenges,’ the 28-year-old recalls. ‘I wanted to have storytelling, wanted to write and produce all the music, perform it live and for it to be atmospheric. One of the perks of being so fresh and new is that I could throw a lot of shit at the wall to see what stuck, because no one really knew who I was and I could just fade into obscurity if it didn’t work. The stakes have been personally high but professionally low. So it felt like a good chance to take a risk, before I get boxed into any one type of comedy.’

As a non-binary act (Boxall’s preferred pronouns are she/ they), she’s wary of being seen to represent anyone but herself. ‘Being a queer geek is a really easy mode for someone like me. It’s easy to crush a queer gig by just saying “fuck JK Rowling!” A greater challenge is winning over someone who’s never heard of me and thinks I’m the weirdest person they’ve ever seen on stage.’ So, while trying not to sound ‘like a 16-year-old smoking a joint’ by pointing out that her experience of bipolarity is subjective, she does want neurotypical audience members to ‘feel just a fraction of what it’s like to be manic or have a mixed episode. A lot of people experience depression or have an idea what that feels like. But they often think mania is like pure euphoria and you’re super-happy. But it’s not, it’s quite terrifying. Everything is going so fast. I didn’t want the show to be overwhelming or traumatising but to capture just a sliver of that. And though I didn’t intend it, the show itself has become quite bipolar, oscillating between these serious storytelling bits, then these hi-energy sound cues and the PowerPoint. It’s become a show with a lot of mood cycles.’

Scout Boxall: Buck Wild, Gluttony, Rymill Park/ Murlawirrapurka, 17–19, 21–26 February, 9.15pm, 28 February–2 March, 6pm.