A truly moving and thought provoking piece, Steve Walter bravely shares his story of how ill-mental health affected his life. Featuring music by Steve Anthony and the calming voice of Deborah Blake, the piece moves through Steve's progression into ill health, his recovery and his life today.
Switching from monologue to poetry, medical reports to music, the performance itself has a dramatic reading/poetry bash/gig feel of relaxed and mellow moods. The voice of Steve's father explains in the opening moments of the performance that "he was there, but now is here". A relatively bare stage allows the message to hit the audience, yet the reassurance that Steve is ok, standing in front of us as we watch allows the audience to reflect throughout the piece on perhaps their own personal experiences or previous thoughts on mental health.
Steve made it through his breakdown and is now sharing his story with others, breaking the stigma that mental health cannot/should not be discussed. With a very open invitation to host a Q&A at the end of the performance, Steve's attitude and bravery encouraged people to speak up and ask questions, something that needs encouraging when it comes to mental health. It's frank and honest nature made it quite difficult to review as everyone will experience it slightly differently. However, it is a show I urge all to go and see, learn about how mental health can affect someone and see that even the darkest of situations can be brought into the light.
A very personal experience, this piece will leave you with a lot to think about and hopefully a new view into the world of mental health.
Mental health is SO important - I know a lot of people who struggle with mental health problems, and having stuff like this to promote conversation is essential. Great review!