On This Day: 27th April

Mental health is something we are all more aware of these days so it's interesting that on this day Before The Lockdown I saw two productions that, in quite different ways, raise issues of mental well-being.

in 2012

There are some works that have become 'national treasures' and Abigail's Party is, without doubt, one of those. This production, which I saw at the Theatre Royal Bath, came from the well-regarded Menier Chocolate Factory with an interesting mix of established stage and TV actors, most of whom had significant success in TV soaps.
Their familiarity with the heightened domestic drama of a TV soap served them very well in this excellent production. With a wonderfully evocative 1970s kitsch (in today's terms anyway) living room set these (mostly) appalling characters were brought to life as we laughed and cringed in equal measure at how awful their behaviour was.
Back then, it was showing off our taste in terrible decor or music choices that we used to define ourselves, now with Instagram, instant video apps, and constant advertising the pressure to be 'aspirational' and conformist at the same time is even more demanding and damaging.

in 2018

Using his own very personal story, of his mother's bipolar disorder, Kane Power's one man presentation Mental, that I saw at The Wardrobe theatre in Bristol, was a remarkably powerful and effecting piece.
While more clinical, more generalised, explanations may offer better scientific insight into a condition, having such a personal story told directly by the person involved provides a much deeper and more significant understanding of what such conditions actually mean to those who live with it.