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Thursday, August 28, 2025

Inside Scatterbrain: Shaparak Khorsandi keeps it funny while on a journey of discovery

A familiar face on our screens since the 1990s, Shaparak Khorsandi is a comedian who has built a career out of observing life’s chaos and turning it into laughter. Now, she is going a step further with a highly personal show. 

Called Scatterbrain, it is coming to Norden Farm Centre For The Arts this September, as part of its silver anniversary month. 

It opens the door to Shaparak’s inner life with an honesty that promises to be hilarious and helpful. 

Inspired by her 2024 book of the same name, the show reflects on how Covid-19 lockdowns changed her life: it led to an ADHD diagnosis that has seen her undergo a very personal journey that has shaped her as a performer and an individual.

She says that she would hyperfocus on the wrong things, make the same mistakes repeatedly, burn herself out regularly, and live a life that was a “frustrating, maddening rollercoaster”. Her diagnosis was “like the lights had been turned on after a lifetime in the dark”.

The book’s subtitle is “How I finally got off the ADHD rollercoaster and became the owner of a very tidy sock drawer”, and takes people on an exploration of how she has made sense of chaos. 

So, five years on from the lockdowns, just how is Shaparak’s sock drawer? 

She chuckles and confirms she has stayed on top of this piece of life admin. 

“It’s good,” she says. “There are only socks in it, whereas before there would be my passport, an old shell I found at the seaside when I was 10, and old toaster parts from a toaster repair that I attempted, but now it is pretty much socks. 

“However, there are some odd socks in it, too.”

They end up in an odd socks department, and sometimes she will go out wearing a mismatched pair – something to watch out for. 

“First time I’ve been asked that question,” she adds.

This shows a mind working to impose order on disorder, a theme that runs through Scatterbrain and Shaparak’s life. While laced with humour, it shows the careful, almost compulsive way she manages the little chaos of daily life: a reflection of her ADHD and the creative processes it fuels. It also adds a love-letter to letter-writing, a trip back through her early years as a comic and woman-about-town. 

Scatterbrain has been on tour already this year, including a visit to South Street in Reading. The response has been so great that an extra dates were needed. We’ll come to that reaction in a bit. 

Norden Farm in Maidenhead is a venue that Shaparak has visited many times over the years, and she is looking forward to returning with Scatterbrain, not least as the date forms part of the special celebratory month for the arts centre’s big birthday. 

“I love Norden Farm,” she says. “It’s gorgeous and the people there are lovely. 

“I get the impression that the people who attend my show go to lots of things there. It’s really lovely to be at a theatre that matters to the community. That really matters to me, because live comedy and live performance are my favourite things in the world. 

“Anyone who is doing anything live, whether it’s a street performer or an opera singer, they are a hero to me. It’s what we have left of the British vaudeville tradition, where people used to pack out the houses to watch a show. In these days when everyone is addicted to scrolling and reels and stuff, it’s really important to keep the live traditions going.”

So, it should come as no surprise that Shaparak says she doesn’t work in other mediums, so you won’t find her making TikTok videos. 

She says: “In lockdown, a comedian friend of mine said we should learn to do comedy online. I would rather retrain as a plasterer; a comedian online is a different job. It’s like telling a gymnast to become a ballet dancer. That’s just not going to work.”

So, she is happier supporting treasured venues like Norden Farm for Scatterbrain. Live comedy is also special as the energy exchanged with a live audience is hard to replicate online, as it is very much in the moment.

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Shaparak says she loves touring as a result, but it does come with personal considerations. 

“I hate being away from home, but I love being on the road,” she confesses. “It’s a very, very difficult thing. I have children and dogs, so my tours are longer because I visit the same number of venues over a more extended period of time. 

“I am a real homebody, but there’s nothing I love more than padding around the country. I think two days away from home is maximum for me.” 

Her touring experiences mean that the UK could be a specialist subject for her if she ever appears on Mastermind again – she appeared in 2016, with her specialist subject being Charlie Chaplin. 

“A friend was buying a house in Rottingdean in Brighton, and I was able to tell her about it. She wanted to know how. It’s because I’m a comedian. We know every nook and cranny of the British Isles – everywhere. If there is a little pub with a room above that has performances, a little arts centre, a theatre … we all know it.”

Interlude at Edinburgh

One of the reasons for the break in Shaparak’s Scatterbrain tour has been to make her annual trip to the Edinburgh Fringe, the annual gathering of shows performed in an eclectic selection of venues across the famous Scottish capital. She says that the two weeks there have been a chance to reflect on how far she has come as a performer – this year, she performed Scatterbrain as a warm-up to the autumn tour. 

“I’ve been going for years and years, now I don’t really have anything to gain from (performing at) it. When you’re younger, you go to Edinburgh to get noticed. I’m a bit of an old hand now, so until I do something new like a play or a mime act,” she laughs. 

That might be prophetic, as she is writing a play – it’s four years in the making so far – but this year was about being a stand-up and enjoying the new acts appearing. 

“I love seeing the new ones, but I did feel like that person who, when you go to your hometown, is that one primary school friend who never left while you have gone on. I felt like Dot Cotton from EastEnders still sitting in the corner of the pub: ‘I’ve seen all the comings and goings and in my day…’,” she jokes, while teasing: “I think I want to do something different next year.”

How Scatterbrain sees Shaparak true to her voice

While Shaparak isn’t Dot Cotton, our conversation is filled with laughter and joy, as well as some deeply moving moments. It’s this depth to her perspective that underlines the authenticity that informs Scatterbrain. 

Having reached a stage in her career where she no longer needs validation, she can focus entirely on creating a show that is true to her voice. She says she is chuffed by the response to the show, which has been so strong that the tour needed to be extended to meet demand. 

“I feel like Scatterbrain is the first show that’s really authentically me. I think that my masking ADHD for so long meant that I did shows that were good and got me to where I am today, but with this show, I have no anxiety about it; I don’t need to worry about it, and I don’t care what reviewers think. 

“I just care about my connection with the audience.” 

This is a milestone for a comedian who has spent decades navigating the pressures of stage performance, media attention, and public expectation. In Scattrerbrain, she sets aside the need for external validation, focusing instead on the immediacy of her story and the audience connection, which she describes as the joy of performing.

Shaparak’s openness extends into her reflections on life and relationships. 

“I’m like that in real life. I can’t do small talk, but I am much more aware of my boundaries now and am protective of myself; I have no shame about anything I’ve said or done. 

“By this, I mean that I carried so much shame before, but I am healing from it. Now, if I put my foot in it, I’ll just say sorry. If someone doesn’t like me, that’s okay. Not everyone has to experience you in a positive way.”

With this new perspective, Shaparak’s audiences can watch a performer unafraid to explore the flaws, quirks, and messy reality of life. It’s an honesty that is resonating, and those who have read her book have a head start here.

“The response to it was unreal,” she says, recalling the time when she was stopped at a railway station by a young woman whom she thought was just going to say hello because she was a celebrity. Instead, she revealed that reading Scatterbrain had helped her gain a deeper understanding of herself. 

“The book had been so impactful to her that I stayed with her a while to give her a hug and a chat. It was the first time she had heard anyone say out loud the stuff she had been hiding and masking. 

“This has happened a lot in my shows and book readings, so I always stick around afterwards to talk to people who feel that way. I don’t think you can do a show like this and then buzz off.”

There is another reason why Shaparak is happy to stick around: “I need it too,” she says. “I need to speak to people who have had the same experiences as me, because it’s all really new for me as well. 

“I have only known for four years that I have ADHD, and it’s really impactful for me when I meet people and talk to them. It really matters. 

“This show, I think, matters more to me than any other show I have done.”

These encounters show the therapeutic potential of comedy when combined with honesty. Shaparak’s work doesn’t prescribe solutions but creates space for recognition and shared experience. It’s a connection that can be life-affirming for both performer and audience.

“I don’t think I’m helping people, I think I am connecting with them. Connection is everything, isn’t it?

“We are all on the same level: I am not an expert on this, I am not teaching anyone anything. I am just finding common ground, and I am in that common ground as well.”

She says that while the show fuses the satisfaction she gets from writing and performing, her need for a buzz from being on stage has lessened. 

“It used to be that I didn’t feel visible unless I was performing; I don’t feel that any more,” she says, attributing that change to the therapy she has undergone as part of her ADHD journey. 

That in itself is a full circle, as she is going from patient to training to become a therapist herself. She is now in her third year of a Masters, and that too has had an impact on her standup: “It has given me an understanding that I didn’t really have before, and a connection I didn’t really have before. The stand-up is all just joy. It’s not a need, it’s a want.”

And this, in turn, gives her a curiosity about life, specifically about other people. She says she cannot get on a bus without someone telling her about their life. 

“I think it’s called being nosy,” she smiles. “I am deflecting with humour, but I feel like the same way I was when I was a kid – I was really deep and really interested in talking with people about their stuff. 

“When you get to be an adult, if you ask personal questions or tell people personal stuff, they can think you are a weirdo, or pretentious, intrusive, or whatever. I never really learned how to harness, so I masked it. 

“Now, I feel like myself, so I’m disinterested in small talk. I always have been; it bores me to death. It’s not that I don’t care about what people are saying, I just don’t care for talking for the sake of it. I’m comfortable with silence.”

This makes mealtimes “way more fun”, she says. “When people stop small talking, the conversations become interesting.”

And this all feeds back into Shaparak’s new show. Ultimately, Scatterbrain is an invitation to share in laughter, reflection, and connection. 

So why book a ticket to see Scatterbrain at Norden Farm this September? 

“Come and see my show because I want to meet you,” Shaparak says. “There are so many people in the world I don’t know yet. So, yes, I would like to meet you, and I’d like to have a laugh with you.”

A simple request, but it all comes back to the raw honesty of Scatterbrain, the shared human experience it creates and the connection and joy of being together. All while laughing too. 

When can I see Shaparak Khorsandi’s Scatterbrain at Norden Farm and how do I get tickets? 

Shaparak Khorsandi’s show Scatterbrain will be performed in Maidenhead on Wednesday, September 11, from 8pm. 

The show takes place in the Courtyard Theatre at Norden Farm Centre for the Arts in Maidenhead. 

Tickets cost £19.50, and the show is suitable for ages 14 and over. 

For more information or to book tickets directly, visit the Norden Farm website, https://norden.farm/events/shaparak-khorsandi-scatterbrain or call the box office on 01628 788997.

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