[Published in the Age, October 5 2012]
TWO STARS
Presented as part of Mental Health Week, this bleak play looks at the oppression of the mental health system and the cycles of abuse that beset both patients and carers.
Written by ”street poet” Scott Welsh, the script may be heavy-handed, but still sharply observes the characters and routines of this hidden world. Teddy (Peter Flaherty) is held prisoner by his condition, the action never leaving his dungeon-like lounge room. His days are punctuated by clockwork visits from psychiatric nurses, calls from his overbearing mother, and the haunting of his memories. Teddy fancies himself an orator, but there are secrets that are too painful for him to utter. Here madness is shown to be inextricable from a history of hurt, to which authorities remain indifferent.
The group discussion about the mental health system that follows the performance raises as many crucial issues as the play does.
Currently showing at La Mama Theatre, until October 14.
Posted on October 5, 2012
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