SHE (See us, Hear us, Engage with us)
With anxiety and depression up by 25% worldwide in only the first year of the pandemic, the most important question we might face today is: How are you? To address the increasing stress on our mental health, PIP Theatre, The Good Room and Indelabilityarts collaborated to find a creative solution. From a collection of more than 800 survey submissions by women with mental health challenges, what has emerged over a three-year process is a diversity of issues with three key voices in the form of co-writers Nici Morey, Bianca Saez and Karen Lee Roberts – mentored by award-winning Maxine Mellor and writers from Playlab.
These women have unique creative voices that I doubt you will hear anywhere else. The three emerging writers all identify as having a disability, collectively struggling with post-natal depression, Tourette syndrome, and bi-polar disorder. One was sectioned by her ex-husband and spent time in a State-sponsored mental health facility. The three writers join the stage in the form of taped audio interviews. And, given that the writers are all identified and not anonymous, I wonder if some of their contributions could have been via live or pre-taped video.
The other voices are brought to life by four wonderful performers: Aurora Liddle-Christie, Jessica Veurman, Morgan Maguire, and Rebecca Alexander (co-founder of Indelibilityarts). These Brisbane-based performers have a wealth of training and experience across film and theatre in Queensland and interstate, and each have their own strong stage presence. They embody dozens of real women, taking the audience from the deep lows to the very high peaks of the mental health ride. The pieces are deftly directed by Amy Ingram (co-founder of The Good Room) and Catarina Hebbard (co-founder of Indelibilityarts). I only wish that more of the pieces were dramatised with less read-from-the-clipboard style. But that’s only because I felt that this group of warm and engaging performers have much more to give. Among the darker moments, there are some extremely fun energetic moments, courtesy of choreography by Nerida Matthael, with crystal clear sound design by Jessica Dunn and striking and practical lighting design by Teegan Kranenburg (different coloured lights alert the audience to upcoming triggering content), with astute set and costume design by Chloe Greaves.
The women’s stories are often confronting, and will be triggering for some – with themes that include suicide and self-harm – but they are always enlightening and inspiring. This is because, once we have waded through numerous submission stories and insights from Nici, Bianca and Karen, there is light at the end of the tunnel. The writers and some of the anonymous women who contributed their submissions do find solutions. They find that sharing stories, communicating your feelings, and taking time to be creative, all offer insights and relief. I’m guessing that many of us would agree: apart from good friends and professional therapists, we all have our own creative team of artists, writers, singers in our lives who vicariously help us through. Singer-songwriter Judee Sill revealed of her song, ‘Jesus was a cross-maker’: “It saved me this song – It was writing this song or suicide!” And Viv Albertine has said of her all-women punk group: “We came from dysfunctional families or had mental health issues. That's not something I'm ashamed of. I think it's wonderful we made something of our lives.”
For me that encapsulates the feeling you are left with after this short, non-stop show – SHE de-stigmatises, shows the value in cooperation and communication, and creates hope.
Beth Keehn
Find out more: https://metroarts.com.au/event/she/
Photos by Indelabilityarts
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