Ellie Brelis Presents UK Premiere Of DRIVER'S SEAT: OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE DISASTER

Ellie Brelis will present the UK premiere Of DRIVER'S SEAT: OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE DISASTER, a dark comedy about a young woman's experience of being hospitalised and living with OCD, at theSpaceUK @ Surgeons' Hall, Theatre 3, 2 – 24 Aug 2024 (not 7, 11, 12,14 & 21), 15:10 (15:55).

Based on writer and performer Ellie Brelis' lived experience of having obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), the events leading up to her admitting herself into a psychiatric hospital, and the months of intensive care that followed, Driver's Seat: Obsessive Compulsive Disaster is a moving and meaningful dark comedy solo show. The show finds humour in moments of pain, bravely filling a gap with a truthful representation of mental illness and humanising the journey through medical treatment. The show details Ellie's experiences of 2020: a traumatic breakup, loss of a loved one, a major breakdown and exploring her sexual identity all whilst living with OCD. Brelis uses her enigmatic delivery and dark comedy to make a uniquely traumatic experience universal, connecting with audiences about the raw truth of the lifelong battle of mental illness.

When you're eight, monsters live under your bed. Ellie's live in her head, threatening to harm her sister and taunting the imminent death of her parents. After her monster was diagnosed as OCD, the life in threat became hers. Ellie can't drive, she can't eat pizza, she decidedly can't keep a boyfriend… but the one thing she can do is find humour in the horror. Having spent her life without a driver's licence due to the fear that her OCD might lead her into an accident, maybe, just maybe, Ellie is ready to move out of the passenger's seat and experience life behind the wheel.

Writer and performer Ellie Brelis said, “I was always made to believe I was quirky, not crazy. I was terrified of being called ‘crazy.' Then I realized: You can't scare me – my OCD has already played out every horrific scenario imaginable in my head a countless number of times! I don't care if you think I'm crazy. I care if you think you're crazy, because OCD is horrible and isolating but I promise you're not alone. If you're lucky, you will find times where the funny outweighs the fear, and that can lead to freedom... and writing a solo show."

Ellie Brelis is an award-winning playwright, actor, and producer, who is inspired to use the stage and screen as a vehicle to transport audiences out of their comfort zone in the hopes to cultivate compassion for others by normalising mental health and helping uplift voices that are often never given a chance to be heard. Her work explores the nuanced reality of complex human experiences which society often categorises as binary and either romanticises or demonises. After her success in the USA, with critically-acclaimed runs in both LA and New York (winning four awards at FRIGID Festival 2022 including Audience Choice Award and Sold-Out Award), and an upcoming run at Martha's Vineyard Playhouse in 2025, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe will be Ellie's UK premier.

theSpaceUK @ Surgeons' Hall, Theatre 3, Nicolson Street, EH8 9DW

2 – 24 Aug (not 7, 11, 12,14 & 21), 15:10 – 15:55

£8 (£5 concs)