How I Got Here
(the short version)
I was brought up in England by my emotionally chaotic, gorgeous, divorced, traumatised parents. It was the 80s, and most people were trying to feel okay — usually with booze — in a post-war Britain. We laughed to cope, and by age eight, comedy had become my mission in life.
As a teenager, I started reading spiritual, metaphysical, law-of-attraction books and thought, “Hey, that’s a better way of being successful than slaving away at school.” Alongside this hobby, I was taking my own journey with addiction — light and shadow doing their merry dance.
Back then, my life was an ego-driven cocktail of mystical insight, fear, and self-rejection. I had no idea who I was or how to accept myself. Those ingredients contributed to a severe bout of madness in Thailand in the year 2000 — I was nineteen and completely unprepared for what came next: a life-altering spiritual awakening. But goodness me, try telling a psychiatric doctor that. I felt like a fish in a fishbowl, everyone staring at me. I tried to explain myself, but only bubbles came out.
Shoehorned into the psych ward against my will, I went on to have a vision:
a) that I was Jesus reincarnated, and
b) that I would save the world with a
rap album.
I’m not Jesus reincarnated, and I don’t rap — but it’s on my to-do list.
I got clean and sober in 2010, and to this day, I still actively work a program of recovery to maintain my high-vibrational state — which is important for manifesting the life of your dreams. I have a Comedy Writing and Performance degree from Salford University in the UK, which proves I am funny. I also trained as a therapist, and it changed the way I show up on stage and in all my relationships, especially the one with myself.
I married my two great loves — comedy and healing — and their love child is Hilarapy.
Everything I’ve lived — the chaos, the comedy, the madness, the awakening, the recovery, the spiritual obsession, the law-of-attraction nerdery, the therapy, the humour — has brought me to my purpose: helping people move the fear that blocks their light, and having a really good time doing it.
I live in British Columbia, Canada — and I make it my job to dance with genius.*
*According to the ancient Greeks, genius was a visiting spirit — a mischievous muse that would drop by, stir things up, and vanish once the magic was done.
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This is not therapy.
This is not a comedy class.
This is a therapeutic experience rooted in play, connection, and shared humanity.
Lizzie Highlights
Thrive Hilarapy Trailer
— (thrive)Vancouver-based Comedian Lizzie Allan
— Vancouver GuardianLizzie Allan and Lovolution at the Heritage Playhouse
— Coast ReporterLizzie Allan Owning Her Own Story, Shining Her Light
— DrishtiLizzie Allan Vision
— YouTubeLizzie Allan - Comedian, RTC, and founder, Hilarapy
— Women of OptionsTransform Your Shame Into Comedy
— TEDLizzie Allan Performing
— Yuk Yuk'sGirls Rapping about Recovery from Addiction | Stop Using Fool!
— Addictive Comedy | Hilarapy StudiosHilarapy is born.
— University of Salford