I WAS so excited after speaking to artistic directors Mick Martin and Jude Wright about their new show The Wonderful World Of….that I literally wanted to run home and write it up straight away. No joke.
Maybe it was talking to them face to face or the subject itself that got me. Or maybe it was their enthusiasm for the show. But after talking to them I got a real feel for what they wanted to do and how they are planning to do it.
Seeing the funny side of mental health is something Mick and Jude take so seriously they have spent months of their time and energy putting the show together, raising cash from the Arts Council, and for the past three weeks rehearsing for up to ten hours a day at Templeworks in Leeds where it will first be shown for three days from this Thursday 19 to Saturday 21 May.
The piece is inspired by their friends’ experience of mental breakdown and entry into the surreal world of psychosis. Mick who wrote the play said: “The first thing that struck me about their stories was how inherently theatrical they were. Strange characters and even stranger events were a recurring theme, along with the total belief in a surreal reality.
“The more I learned about what our friends had gone through, the more powerless I felt, and the more I realised society as a whole is still mired in ignorance and fear of this taboo subject.”
Mental illness affects one in four adults in the UK, and The Wonderful World Of….. is about bipolar disorder. Previously known as manic depression this is a condition that affects your moods, which can swing from one extreme to another. It is said that the minds of people with bipolar can race at 1000 mph compared to a more typical pace of 40mph.
At the start of the show the audience are lead by the captain of the ship of fools on a journey – bizarre, funny, poignant, confusing, painful and loud, to where only a very select few would normally go – into complete mental breakdown.
The team behind it build a fragmentary portrait of the characters’ experiences with frenetic splashes of colour, movement and live music. Templeworks based Dave Lynch is doing the projections, Barney George has designed the set and music is by That F**king Tank.
The performance will span the length and breadth of Leeds’ most up and coming arts space, Templeworks.
Templeworks writer in residence Phil Kirby said: “We are all really excited about the show which we are delighted to be premiering particularly because the themes seem to suit the space so well.
“We are all about connecting local communities and reaching out to people – something we are able to do because of the building’s history and existing connections, particularly with south Leeds.
“Templeworks isn’t seen as a Grade One listed building – just an old factory, part of the furniture. It doesn’t have any airs and graces and anyway why should it? People, particularly those who used to work here already have connections with the place.”
After the show’s first performances at Templeworks it will go on tour to Nottingham’s The Art Organisation and London’s Tooting Market.
Tickets cost £10 and are available from Eventbrite
Interviews with Mick and Jude by @philkirby
I really enjoyed going to see The Wonderful World Of…… I was swept along with a story that was funny and entertaining whilst dealing with the difficult issues of mental breakdown. The fantastic building, The Temple Works, provided a backdrop to the play which used live music, film and art installations to explore a subject that nobody really wants to talk about. The characters were human and real, I laughed and cried and went away feeling more enlightened. (The Captain of the Ship of Fools really reminded me of Captain Spalding from House of a 1000 Corpses, which added to my enjoyment). Everyone should go and see this fabulous theatre performance.