Tag Archives: Paula Garfield

4.48 Psychosis – 4 Stars

Psychosis

4.48 Psychosis

New Diorama Theatre

Reviewed – 21st September 2018

★★★★

“a productive insight into the problems of deaf mental health patients, forcing us to confront the fact that their experiences are rarely considered”

 

4.48 Psychosis is the final work by British playwright Sarah Kane, an unflinching and often violent portrayal of a life lived on the brink of suicide. It has no characters. It has no setting. It has a script, and nothing more. Safe to say, it’s not what you’d call accessible.

It’s a pleasant surprise, therefore, that this collaboration between the New Diorama Theatre and Deafinitely Theatre has resulted in something that is not only accessible to the average theatre-goer, but also speaks to a group that is too often excluded from the conversation. Deafinitely Theatre’s Artistic Director Paula Garfield reimagines Kane’s play (which, having no identifiable characters or visuals, is dependent on its dialogue) as a comment on mental health in the deaf community. Performed in a mixture of British Sign Language and English, Garfield aims to create a piece that is ‘engaging’ for deaf audiences while also exploring the problems faced by deaf mental health patients.

Garfield envisions a version of 4.48 Psychosis that has both a social and artistic impact: she achieves both of these aims. By creating a loose narrative from Kane’s fragmentary text, she effectively explores how difficult it is to explain the reality of living with a mental health condition. The play features two doctors, both of whom are hearing, and two deaf patients. The patients must attempt to make themselves understood before health professionals with questionable levels of sympathy. Kane’s dialogue shows that this is hard enough for a hearing patient; here, the actors’ evocative use of sign language amplifies this even further. From the perspective of a hearing audience member, this is a productive insight into the problems of deaf mental health patients, forcing us to confront the fact that their experiences are rarely considered.

At the same time, Garfield maintains the essence of Kane’s play. Although she makes the dialogue and its meaning feel a little more familiar, a strange, almost otherworldly quality remains. Enclosed in a tiny hospital room and shielded from the audience by a plastic screen, the characters seem like part of a dystopian fantasy. They wrestle with volatile emotions under sudden flashes of harsh light, as Kane’s lyrical text are projected behind them; they march in formation as they reveal their most intimate thoughts. Although the actors have distinct characters, they balance their nuanced and naturalistic performances with a commitment to Kane’s abstract presentation. Garfield does not attempt to simplify the content, and the actors fully commit to her vision with force.

4.48 Psychosis may not be for everyone: almost two decades after its first performance, it continues to shock and disturb. But Deafinitely Theatre’s landmark production demonstrates not only its value, but its ever-expanding potential to explore untold stories.

 

Reviewed by Harriet Corke

Photography by Becky Bailey

 

 


4.48 Psychosis

New Diorama Theatre until 13th October

 

Related
Previously reviewed at this venue
It Made me Consider | ★★★ | February 2018
Trap Street | ★★★★ | March 2018
Left my Desk | ★★★★ | May 2018
 Bitter | ★★★★ | June 2018

 

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Review of Contractions – 4 Stars

Contractions

Contractions

New Diorama Theatre – ND2

Reviewed – 10th November 2017

★★★★

“a gripping, black comedy with a talented cast”

 

The tenth anniversary showing of Mike Bartlett’s Contractions takes place in ND2, New Diorama Theatre’s rehearsal rooms complex on the former trading floor of J P Morgan. Offices, desks and computers are everywhere to be seen; you are truly in the heart of this 9-5 world, where the play is set.

Contractions

In a series of increasingly tense meetings between ‘The Manager’ (Fifi Garfield) and employee Emma (Abigail Poulton), we witness Emma’s individuality crumbling at the hands of an anonymous corporation. As her boss begins to wreak havoc on her personal life, she is forced to commit unspeakable and slightly unrealistic acts, all in order to improve her sales figures.

The set is functional, alongside office equipment props, PowerPoint projections are used; absent characters on the wall and whiteboard illustrations remind us of the bleak situation Emma is in.

I loved the evolution of Poulton’s character; from eager, young, impressive office worker to something much darker. Coupled with Garfield’s portrayal of the scary and heartless monster of a manager, the pairing were a joy to watch.

Co-produced with Deafinitely Theatre, the performance is signed as well as spoken. It’s a gripping, black comedy with a talented cast and certainly is theatre for everyone.

 

Reviewed by Ciara Loana

Photography by Becky Bailey

 

 

CONTRACTIONS

is at ND2 until 29th November

 

 

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