My Sexual Abuse: The Sitcom Review – a unique, painfully raw treatment of trauma

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“Mark, why are you doing this?” This is the question Mark O’Sullivan asks himself in the first moments of My Sexual Abuse: The Sitcom. It’s a fair question, and one imagines that the comedian and author’s inner circle asked him before he embarked on this painful and raw excavation of his trauma. There are very few people who would feel comfortable talking about their childhood sexual abuse on national television. And even fewer would commit to making a sitcom about their experiences (as opposed to a dark comedy-drama in the style of Baby reindeer or I Can destroy you). Even fewer would make a film about the entire process.

But that’s exactly what O’Sullivan did. As a boy, he was abused by a member of his extended family. Decades later, when he was in his thirties, he gave evidence in a court case that eventually led to the conviction of his abuser. Now he has written a short comedy episode about those events, in the artificial, “deliberately cartoonish” style of an Eighties family sitcom, and invited a camera crew from Channel 4 to film the making of the episode. The result is a curious, confronting mix of documentary and public therapy session, with some dark punchlines sprinkled in. All of it revolves around the question: how can you find humor in something so horrific?

First, however, O’Sullivan must “go back to his past.” In one of the first scenes, we see him looking at a photograph of himself as a smiling boy, taken during a family vacation. He immediately recognizes that the photo was taken before the abuse began, “in the before-before part,” because he looks so carefree.

But although he can clearly divide his childhood into pre- and post-abuse periods, a meeting with family friend Toni reveals how successful he has been in hiding this trauma. She admits she never noticed any changes in his behavior – and if she had, she would have taken him in. It’s devastating, but there is a moment of gentle humor that lightens this heartbreaking moment. When O’Sullivan tells her about his sitcom plans, she responds with a very polite, slightly baffled, “Oh, right!”

The cameras then follow him into the rehearsal room to explore some of his creative choices. Why does he think the sitcom, a form associated with engineered laughter and creaky sets, is the best medium to capture the darkest parts of his life, something he admits he’s thought about every day since the incident? Because he thinks it’s a good way to show that “it can and does happen to anyone, anywhere” – even in a seemingly normal, happy family home. Why is “Steve,” the fictionalized version of his tormentor, portrayed as a man in a teddy bear costume? It’s not entirely clear, but it certainly lends a nightmarish quality to the whole thing.

Particularly poignant is his decision to cast comedian Cariad Lloyd in the dual role of his aunt and defence lawyer. The lawyer who made him relive the abuse during a “horrific and traumatic” cross-examination is the obvious villain of the piece. But in real life, it was his aunt, once one of his dearest relatives, who also became the villain – because she didn’t believe him when he finally confided in his family. The trial, we learn, “split the family in two”, with some of them siding with O’Sullivan’s abuser.

The resulting comedy show is a little patchy, but that’s not really the point. It’s the process – and the possibility of catharsis – that makes it fascinating, if uncomfortable, to watch.

If you are a child and need help because something has happened to you, you can call the NSPCC free on 0800 1111. You can also call the NSPCC if you are an adult and are worried about a child on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adults on 0808 801 0331

Rape Crisis provides support for victims of rape and sexual abuse. You can call them on 0808 802 9999 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland and 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland or visit their website at www.rapecrisis.org.ukIf you are in the US, you can call Rainn at 800-656-HOPE (4673).