"I don't talk about the Bible or generic topics. I talk about my experiences to make comedy out of my life." With this statement Rachel Arieff describes the starting point of her theatrical shows, which she always performs alone onstage with her mordant -- and at times uncomfortable -- sense of humor. The latest of these, Por eso soy así, llega mañana al Teatreneu con un hilo argumental inspirado en algunos capítulos difíciles de su biografía personal anterior a los 25 años.

"It's a confessional monologue. A trip to various chapters of my life that I've never talked about in public because they're difficult to revisit and I've preferred not to think about them, like bulimia or domestic abuse. But it's good material for a show," says Rachel, convinced that that comedy helps to digest tragedy. "One person's pain and humiliation is another's entertainment!"

It all began with an eating disorder during adolescence. Arieff couldn't stop eating, and as a consequence of her weight gain, developed a case of bulimia that derailed her college education and led to self-mutilation. The next painful memory is the domestic abuse that she suffered from her boyfriend. "This will resonate in Spain, where you're constantly reading in the news about men who abuse and even kill their wives. I think this country is becoming very conscious about the horrible machismo problem."

Conscious of the delicacy of these subjects, she's opted to expose herself completely in first person. "My thing has always been to find the funny side of the darkest things in life. I don't care if someone ends up feeling offended. No one has the right to tell me how I should talk about my problems. I've lived them, so I'll talk about them the way I choose."

"Satire has no limits," insists Rachel. "I come from America, where the way people express themselves can be very hard and brutal, just like the society. These people are armed! Here there is more courtesy and manners. I like that. In America I didn't feel comfortable being female. I wished I was a man, because l felt like being female in America meant to be weak. For some reason, in Spain I can be a woman and feel strong."The American showwoman Rachel Arieff never leaves anyone indifferent with her monologues.

Rachel Arieff arrived in Spain in 2004, after going through a divorce and breaking the routine of a day job in an insurance company and working nights as a comedian in Los Angeles. "I lived on top of an illegal clinic with homeless drunks on my doorstep, and drinking myself into a coma every night," the remembers. An interview with Popular 1 magazine, a vacation in Barcelona and the love she found there brought her to try a new life in Catalonia, where she continues her trajectory as a comedian -- now in Spanish -- and has found underground stardom thanks to her rock show, Anti-Karaoke.

"I felt lonely. I missed sharing the stage with my comedian friends." For this reason, she invented a format in which people with "freaky" talent could get onstage and "pervert" the great pop, rock, heavy or punk songs.

Thanks to the success of this formula, the show is still going strong every Monday at the Apolo club of Barcelona and the first Wednesday of the month in El Sol club of Madrid.

On another front, she has converted her experiences and reflections about Spain into a sarcastic monologue called Planeta Catalunya, which she offers the last Thursday of every month in the Llantiol theater. In this show, she shows the funny contradictions that she's experienced and throws barbs at the policy of linguistic normalization.

"My favorite kind of comedy is the dangerous kind, that deals with painful or controversial topics," says Rachel. "And it's not about being provocative for no reason, rather the authenticity of the performer's experience. This is why so many Black comedians are successful in America: because of what they've suffered and the grievances they have to complain about."

Interview by Pep Blay, February 3rd, 2011