Sustaining the planet

The prospect of spending 90 minutes listening to a former environmental health officer describe in detail his very personal descent into madness is the stuff of Fringe Theatre. This production promises to carry the story arc beyond Steve Walter’s experience of locked wards, through to his recovery, but the fact that he’s out there on the stage with his medical notes begs the question of how complete that recovery might be. In fact, the audience is drawn into a powerful, emotional journey executed with passion and surety of purpose. Walter soars beyond the pitfalls of the self obsessed misery memoir describing instead a small but important history of a human triumph. The blend of poetry, self-confessional prose and performance is hugely enhanced by the music and song of Steve Antoni, whose contribution effortlessly switches the pace and tone of the performance without ever losing the theme. Walter’s motivation in all this is “the vision of mental ill health being discussed freely in every part of the country, over coffee, over a pint, without stigma, judgement or gossip.” The number of the occasions that the audience spontaneously identifies with his experiences suggests with this production we may be a step closer to realizing his vision. Jim Ferguson