The Eradication of Schizophrenia in Western Lapland
David Woods author Jon Haynes author Ridiculusmus author
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Published:20th Feb '14
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
The new work from acclaimed company Ridiculusmus is inspired by a treatment method for psychosis that has virtually eradicated shizophrenia.
First play in a trilogy tackling mental health issues from two successful playwrights. A formally inventive play from critically acclaimed theatre company.Mediterranean roasted vegetables. Finnish Folk and Margaret Drabble. Adolf Hitler and the knitted cover for a toilet roll. An audience split in two experiencing auditory hallucinations. The new work from acclaimed theatre company Ridiculusmus is inspired by a treatment method for psychosis that has virtually eradicated schizophrenia from Western Lapland. The text is syncopated and harmonised throughout with duets on words and phrases, cooking up a dizzying concoction of memory, delusion and reality that culminates in a unified third act of denouement set between the past and present – the crucial defining moment of the protagonist’s life. It conjures up a comic nightmare of delusion while offering a hopeful world of polyphonic uncertainty, a world where dialogue can transform your life.
Embedded here is an argument for a different treatment for mental illness, practised in Finland, that embraces dialogue with a community, not just a patient...it's a startling piece of work that challenges how you listen and fathom what you hear. * Four Stars - Guardian *
...intelligent, formally liberated and bloody peculiar...as both seriously thought-provoking and seriously funny theatre, it sees Ridiculusmus (remaining) at the very top of their game. * Four Stars - Exeunt Magazine *
Writers Jon Haynes and David Woods, drawing inspiration from the 'Open Dialogue' method of dealing with schizophrenia, have created a perplexing piece of theatre that baffles and confounds with precision and structural flair. * Four stars - Younger Theatre *
As a theatrical approximation of what one might imagine insanity to be like it is remarkable, virtuosic stuff. * Four stars - Time Out *
The piece is intriguing, and whilst it is not the most succinct or snappy piece of theatre you will ever see, it provokes a discussion which is most certainly needed. * Four stars - Public Reviews *
Highly intelligent writing - This piece genuinely takes you into a land where you have nothing to hold on to. * Everything Theatre *
It is more thought-provoking than sensational and that seems entirely appropriate for a play which opens a dialogue on art and speech as therapy. * What's On Stage *
ISBN: 9781783191086
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: 104g
94 pages