Arts House and Black Sequin Productions present Madeleine – a shadow in the house of love.
3 – 8 August 2010
Arts House
North Melbourne Town Hall
Bookings: artshouse.com.au or 03 9322 3713
More info: www.artshouse.com.au
Photography by Jeff Busby
Precis
MADELEINE – a schizophrenic tragedy By Jenny Kemp
On the edge – a cycle of works by Black Sequin Productions.
I believe there to be a deficit of artistic expression in the area of mental illness.
ON THE EDGE is a cycle works dealing with mental illness. The first play KITTEN – a bi polar soap opera, explored Bi Polar Disorder. Produced for The Melbourne International Festival for the Arts in 2008. MADELEINE the second work in this cycle will explore Schizophrenia.
Call of the Wild | Remember | The Black Sequin Dress | Still Angela | Kitten
Synopsis
Maddy is turning 19. Her world is becoming increasingly bizarre as psychic forces beyond her control take hold. Her internal, delusional world is played out on stage.
When her sister returns to the family home for the birthday she finds Maddy at a point of crisis, with the parents unable to cope. Maddy, desperate to obey the demands of her inner voices is pursuing a new and better world, dragging the whole family towards a tragic outcome.
Madeleine exposes the uncertain world of mental illness for open contemplation in a poetic reality of emotional depth, dark humour, beauty and horror. This highly researched and deeply moving drama reveals the inside world of a schizophrenic young woman and the traumatic consequences for those around her.
Writer/ Director Notes
The Concept:
MADELEINE has been and is a very complex piece to work on because of the nature of the content. In the writing stage I have attempted to express both the internal and external world of a schizophrenic woman and the impact of her illness on the rest of the family.
The play explores the very different responses individuals have to mental illness and shows how behind closed doors families struggle to deal with this often hidden and taboo mental illness.
Jung has said that as humans our main fears are always of one of the following:
MADNESS / ABANDONMENT / DEATH = MAD. MADELEINE is going M A D and those around her have to deal with it.
The following questions are raised:
What is madness? Why do we become insane? Does it make sense? Is it a valid reality?
Should the world of the insane be dismissed, as unreal or invalid? What can we ‘the sane’ do for, with or to ‘the insane’? How do we cope when a loved one goes insane? Is insanity contagious? Might we the ‘sane’ also go ‘mad’ one day?
MADELEINE does not pretend to have answers, but attempts to bring this world of uncertainty into a presence, for contemplation. To provide a space within which these concerns can become a poetic reality – of both beauty and horror – through which to examine our responses.
Creative Team
Artists involved in creative development of Madeleine…
Writer/Director: Jenny Kemp, Dramaturge: Richard Murphet. Actors: Margaret Mills, Natasha Herbert. Nikki Sheils and Ian Scott.
The development of Madeleine has been supported by The Australia Council for the Arts and Arts Victoria.pre