Last night I went to go and see a performance of Normal Madness by Fiona Geddes. It was not only written by Fiona Geddes but she also performed the piece. I attended the show at the Paisley Arts Centre and from the blurb the performance looked to be quite interesting. Normal Madness is a one women portrayal of a young woman's life living with her mother who has been diagnosed with schizo-affective disorder. It looks at the effect which her mother's disorder has on the young woman's life.
Having worked as a carer for three years and having cared for someone with schizophrenia I can say that Fiona has really done her research into the subject of mental illness and is touchingly true to life. There was hardly a single person watching the performance who did not leave with tears in their eyes at this heart-warming story. Despite this the story is very funny at times and is quite light-hearted at the beginning, getting more and more heartbreaking as it goes on.
Whether or not you have been affected by schizophrenia or not, I believe that anyone who has ever cared for a relative with any condition, mental or physical, will be able to empathize with Kirsty's story. Many of the issues surrounding caring which affects Kirsty in the play, I have seen affect the families of those I have cared for. From dealing with advance statements to the controversial matter of having children with an increased risk of the condition, these issues are portrayed fairly and truthfully.
When the character Kirsty entered her clothing and relaxed manner made me think that she was a member of the audience. She began with wearing a cardigan over two tops and jeans. One of the tops was used to break the ice with a joke while the cardigan was put on and taken off throughout the performance. This casual clothing set the tone for the piece. A relaxed casual atmosphere which added to the integrity of the performance and made it truly believable. Talking to audience members afterwards some of them express that they found it hard to distinguish what was acting and what was real.
Music was used as a tool to show the audience flashbacks to the mother’s past. As the performance was built around just one performer this helped distinguish when she was portraying Kirsty and when she was portraying Kirsty’s mother. The flashbacks were mostly set in a caravan resort and so nostalgic almost carnival like music was used in addition to sound effects of crowds, waves crashing and other sounds associated with a holiday resort. This was in contrast to the rest of the piece which was quite minimalistic.
The only sound effects used outside of the flashbacks was Kirsty’s phone ringing. As most of the piece was dialogue between Kirsty and the audience in an anecdotal style this broke up the piece in a way which made it seem as if it was happening in real time as Kirsty’s mother was interjecting with phone calls to her daughter during Kirsty’s storytelling.
Lighting was widely used to differentiate between when Kirsty addressed the audience and when other characters were portrayed. When three spotlights were used on the stage this showed that Fiona was switching between the characters of the doctors. When more complex lighting states were used this set the landscape for the flashbacks to the mother’s past. Darker lighting states were brought into play in the flashbacks to represent the mother’s declining mental state. Overall the lighting was quite subtle. When Kirsty addressed the audience the lighting was brought up almost as if the house lights were on. This put Kirsty and the audience on equal ground and helped to set up the realism of the story she was telling.
The set was very minimalistic with just a chair on a raised tilted platform with a black background. This provides a blank canvas which the audience can imagine the changing setting of the flashbacks, the doctor's offices and the theatre itself. Keeping the stage with minimal set increased the realism of Kirsty being there to tell her story to the audience which increases the audience's connection with Kirsty.
All props used in the show were brought onto the stage in a handbag by Kirsty. Props used were Kirsty's phone, letters and a bottle of water. These things are the type of items which a woman would carry around with her in her bag on a daily basis which added to the authenticity of the story.
All of these elements came together very well to create an amazingly heart-rending story which is astonishingly funny at times but extremely well researched and written. This sweet anecdotally told story encapsulates so much in just under a hour long. It is definitely worth going to see and I highly recommend it.
http://www.kidder.org.uk/normalmadness/
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