Cape Town’s darling of the stage, musician Alistair Izobell, had mense in tears this week as he opened up about his mental struggles.
With a career spanning decades, Alistair’s name is synonymous with David Kramer-Taliep Petersen musicals like Kat and the Kings and District Six.
So it came as a shock to many when the theatre and radio personality revealed that he tried to end his life just a few short weeks ago.
In a candid snot-en-trane interview with Aden Thomas on Heart FM, the 47-year-old star lifted the lid on his depression, jollery and divorce – all themes covered in his soon-to-be launched autobiography, Broken, reports IOL.
When Aden asked him bluntly, “Why are you here?” the singer responded: “Smoke and mirrors; taking the mask away.”
He said it was time to confront his past, mistakes and find out who he has become, admitting: “Yes, I’m a broken human being and have been for a long time.”
Playing devil’s advocate, Aden mentioned that with Alistair being tried in the court of public opinion, many would suggest he tried to take his own life for attention.
To which Alistair replied: “I didn’t choose this industry. I was an eight-year-old boy and my parents wanted to catapult me outside of the socio-economic gates that I found myself in, and wanted a better life for me.”
Speaking with raw honesty about his suicide attempt, he said matter-of-factly: “What I did was took over a hundred very lethal tablets that I knew were going to kill me; and [I] had been drinking the entire day.
“And then another 18 beers once I had taken the over a hundred tablets, knowing I was going to die.”
The father of two was later found by his daughter.
He admitted that he suffers from depression and didn’t know he was ill.
When confronted about taking the “cowardly way out,” he responded: “There’s no cowardice in suicide because there’s a lot of strength that it takes to actually do it.”
Fighting back the tears, the emotional star added that his way of justifying the suicide was because he thought his loved ones would be better off without him.
When asked if his healing had begun, Alistair said he’s taking things “hour by hour because I can’t get through the day because I can’t.”
The autobiography is due for release next month.
Read part two of the interview in Friday’s Daily Voice.