By Louise
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBX2mxOy4zo
Available until: Unknown
I think these plays are a really good idea. Some of my
adopted siblings have had or still have mental health problems and I think it
helps them to know people are writing plays about people like them. These plays
raise awareness and provide hope and they also show that although mental health
problems can have a really big impact on people’s lives, there is more to each
person than their mental health. They all have their own personalities, their
own likes and dislikes, their own ambitions, their own lives. The characters I
have seen in these plays are all complete people- and really nice people. Their
mental health is only a part of who they are.
This story is about Grandpa, played by Dwight Hicks, and his grandchild Terry. The credits in the video say Terry is played by Helena/Hayden Claussen in the video cast list, but the video description names the actor as Helena Claussen and the actor who appears in the post-show discussion is Hayden Claussen. I’m not sure if the role was shared by two people (with just one appearing on the video) or if Helena/Hayden is genderfluid or transgender. Helena Claussen does seem to have a lot of experience as an actor, but I can’t find out anything about Hayden Claussen. I will use both names and use the pronoun ‘they’ and I really hope this is okay. I don’t want to misgender them as gender-neutral if they’re not, but ‘they’ can also be used if you’re not sure of the right gender so that’s what I’ll do. (The character Terry is a grandson so I’ll call him ‘he’.)
Terry is confused about why Grandpa has disappeared up to
his room. Terry has heard lots of worrying things from his parents, saying Grandpa
has lost his joie de vivre and he needs to talk to someone. This play shows
what happens when Terry goes upstairs and talks to Grandpa.
At first, Grandpa doesn’t really want to talk, though he
doesn’t want to hurt his grandchild either. He hears Terry’s concern for him.
He hears what Terry’s parents have been saying. Grandpa isn’t overly impressed,
but he does his best to explain the term ‘joie de vivre’ and why you can’t just
go and find it again.
It’s a really sad play in some ways because Grandpa is so
sad, but I think it really does help him to talk to Terry. Dwight Hicks gives a
multi-layered performance, often saying one thing but clearly thinking another.
You can see it’s a struggle for him to speak sometimes, but you can still see
the warmth of his personality and his love for Terry. There really is so much
more to Grandpa than his depression. He is a kind man with a great sense of
humour who loves his family a lot and likes to have fun whenever his depression
doesn’t stop him.
Helena/Hayden Claussen is a really impressive young actor.
Their lines sound really natural and unforced and they deliver the jokes in the
script brilliantly. There’s one which I won’t give away, but my brother Jack
really wishes he’d thought of it himself. Terry is a light-hearted character
but Helena/Hayden Claussen really shows how focused Terry is on wanting to
help.
Joe Godfrey has written a really lovely short play which is
all about emotions, but it doesn’t actually become soppy. The two characters are
both really lovely and the message is really positive. It would be a shame if
anyone came away from this play thinking it really is that simple to cure
depression – I think it isn’t a cure for the whole illness, more a cure for
that particular bad moment. Ale Fips keeps the direction really simple, both
actors sitting down, which means we can focus on the words – and this seems
completely right in a play that’s all about how important it is to talk.
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