SpaceCabaret @ 54 – Previews 2nd-3rd August at 15.25- 4th-11th August at 15.25-12th-17th August at 13.25 Tickets: £8 – £6 (Previews £5 – £4) Running Time: 80 minutes
UCLU Runaground return to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with a UK premiere of Lisa Dillman’s THE WALLS, a vivid and immersive play about women and mental health.
How do we know what is normal? Carrie is writing her PhD on female mental illness, but the more she researches the more trapped she becomes as the characters come to life around her and insist on having their stories heard. Past and present overlap as old wounds re-open, and Carrie gradually realises that her research is more intensely personal than she wants to admit. An exploration of female mental illness, past and present, using vivid, overlapping stories that immerse the audience, demanding to be heard.
Resent research suggests that women are more likely than men to develop mental health problems, but all too often women are unheard, isolated and even institutionalised against their will. THE WALLS gives a voice to these hidden stories, both past and present, through interweaving narratives and intimate staging, using a cabaret bar setting to immerse the audience in the drama. The production aims to start a dialogue with the festival audience about female mental health, particularly relating to young women, and to question perceptions of normality.
This will be the first time that Chicago-based playwright Lisa Dillman’s writing has been performed in the UK. THE WALLS was originally commissioned by the Rivendell Theatre Ensemble and performed at the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago in 2009.
UCLU Runaground is the touring branch of UCLU Drama Society. They have built up a reputation for creating innovative and exciting student theatre with their commitment to exploring all aspects of contemporary theatre including new writing, puppetry and physical theatre as well as high-quality interpretations of classic drama. The team of students behind THE WALLS recently presented a highly acclaimed production of Sarah Daniels’ THE GUT GIRLS at the Bloomsbury Theatre and are dedicated to making powerful, professional-quality student theatre with a feminist outlook.
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
