Flesh Disease written by
Diane Stubbings and directed produced by
Romi Kuper is an exploration of the physical experience of mental illness. Now playing at La Mama HQ in Carlton until 25 March.
Book your tickets now .
Flesh Disease - photo by Darren Gill
Five women enter the stage one by one. We don't who they are or why they are together.
Each enters the stage, and all struggle to locate their knitting needles and wool with ease. Everything seems hard. Each woman finds knitting laborious, almost painful rather than a relaxing or pleasurable activity.
Flesh Disease - photo by Darren Gill
However, the act of knitting becomes a catalyst for conversation. Stitch by stitch each woman unravels their physical manifestations of anxiety, depression, and the broad spectrum of mental illnesses.
Flesh Disease - photo by Darren Gill
The women move from their knitting to making shapes with their bodies in response to what they are feeling inside. Itching, shaking, pacing, slumping, losing balance, fighting the air, dancing, swaying, twisting and turning. They struggle to put words to their feelings, often repeating words or parts of stories that are left unfinished.
Flesh Disease is an abstract, multisensory, and complex piece – much like the experience of mental illness and its physical manifestations. The story is not logically laid out or fed to the audience. It is an immersive experience that may be overwhelming or at times confusing in the small intense black box theatre of La Mama HQ. There are trigger warnings in the program and a list of organisations you can contact if you require support after seeing the show.
The performance is accompanied by visual projections of words and images designed by Jenna Eriksen with a soundscape designed by Simon Starr. This adds to the stimuli available to the audience to explore.
This performance may leave you confused, to question further, or to empathise with how mental illness can manifest in the body as 'dis-ease'. The intention of the performance is to connect with the audience through an array of emotions and feelings – and for some that may be uncomfortable and for others it may validate their own experience.
This is challenging and risk-taking theatre.
