Barking Mad
Written and produced by Maree Robertson
Melbourne, October 11-13; Castlemaine, October 13; Hamilton, October 14; Camperdown, October 15
Email <barkingmadproject@yahoo.com.au> or phone 0427 122 608 for more information.
REVIEW BY RACHEL EVANS
This one-hour production is a thought provoking musical dealing with multifarious issues surrounding mental health. Four women, including writer and producer Maree Robertson, engage in monologues that prelude songs touching on sadness, madness, the politics of labelling, and how to cope with the pain of life. Emotionally confronting, a "crying probable!" warning would help audiences.
Depression is the single most disabling health issue, according to the World Health Organisation. September 10 was the Third World Suicide Prevention Day. The WHO reports that one million people die as a result of suicide every year. The WHO's Dr Catherine Le Gales-Camus, posits "Worldwide, more people die from suicide than from all homicides and wars combined". According to Queensland-based Community Action for the Prevention of Suicide, 45 Australians kill themselves each week; and for every death, 23 suicide attempts are made.
There is a dangerous silence attached to suicide and its causes. The Australian government and the establishment media have agreed not to print information about suicides for fear of copycat actions by other tortured souls.
Without a concerted discussion about depression, this mammoth problem can't begin to be addressed. Government silence, plus unease about "catching someone's instability", and over-medicalisation of life's ups and downs through overzealous labelling by drug companies keen to sell their wares, have resulted in serious confusion about mental health.
Robertson exposes constricting labelling practices by inviting the audience to bark if they experience any official indicators of mental illness. "Overspending, sleeping little/lot, fear of public humiliation, excessive energy, not enough energy" had the audience woofing and laughing.
Different philosophical outlooks can lead to inappropriate labelling. Three performers gave us three contradictory philosophical outlooks. "I believe the earth is round", "God made us" and "This world is so shit — I don't believe in anything". The religious view would be accepted until God started talking to religious believers, even though the bible is full of such prophets. The cynical outlook could be diagnosed as depression — yet has such truth!
"Labels are useful", argued one performer, "they enable us to get help". "Labels divide us", argued another.
Songs by Billy Thorpe ("Most people I know think I am crazy") and Suzanne Vega ("Left of centre" ) were beautifully sung.
"Most people would like to think that there is a clear division between madness and sanity; that the two states are in opposition, unchangeable, separated by a line. But where some see a line, others see a point — on a spectrum that reflects moments of both madness and sanity in all our lives", Robertson illuminates.
In a world that is so competitive, that divides whites from blacks, queers from straight, women from men, it is no surprise people are depressed, or killing themselves. Now we have an industry that is dividing workers who have problems stomaching and decoding capitalism's contradictory messages.
Compassion, solidarity, and finding strength through collective artistic creation are all a challenge to capitalism's individualistic message.
Barking Mad leaves one intellectually stimulated and reinvigorated, with concern for the human condition.
From 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ Weekly, September 28, 2005.
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