FAKE IT 'TIL YOU MAKE IT // Bryony Kimmings + Tim Grayburn

Bryony Kimmings has made a name for herself as a fearless performer creating work explicitly about a particular social issue through a lens which is colourful, abstract, and always personal. The process of creating Fake It Til You Make It, in collaboration with real-life partner Tim Grayburn, initially appears similar, until we realise the fragility and danger of the work which focuses on their relationship, and their relationship’s relationship with mental illness, as Tim experiences severe clinical depression.

The performance mixes interviews of Tim with songs, dances and monologues, and is notable for its unflinching look at mental illness – with some incredibly difficult stories told without dramatic affect – and for its unique focus on mental health and relationships. Like Spalding Gray’s Monster in a Box, Fake It shares its focus quite evenly between the effects of illness on the person who experiences it and those who surround them. Fake It serves as both a performance and a piece of advocacy, providing examples for impactful public discussion.

Researchers will be interested in Bryony’s engagement with Tim (as a professional performer crafting his story) as an opportunity for reflection about qualitative research and the ethics inherent in patient engagement.  What does it mean to use your partner’s mental illness as the territory for collaboration? How are researchers currently looking at support, how to be an effective support, support for supporters, etc? And what about audiences who don’t have a partner, or a supportive community around them? What might success look like, and is this different when creating a show not about health? What are the safety mechanisms put in place, professionally and personally, to allow for the ups and downs of mental health and arts practice? There are no simple solutions, but lots of high-energy and engaging exploration around these questions and many more. (BL) 

FAKE IT 'TIL YOU MAKE IT  Bryony Kimmings + Tim Grayburn  Traverse Theatre, Venue 15 Aug 6-9, 11-16, 18-23, 25-30: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/fake-it-til-you-make-it Wheelchair Access and Level Access, BSL interpreted shows available

Bryony and Tim are also speaking at the first Open Meeting of The Sick of the Fringe! August 10th, 12-1pm at Summerhall: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-sick-of-the-fringe-2015-tickets-16972998696?ref=estw

For further information on Bryony Kimmings' work visit: http://bryonykimmings.com/

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/features/fake-it-til-you-make-it-bryony-kimmings-has-made-a-drama-out-of-her-boyfriends-depression-10395322.html

Some Related News:

Mind study on Mental Health and Relationships

http://www.mind.org.uk/news-campaigns/news/mental-health-and-romantic-relationships-research-released-today/#.VcJJ0VxViko

International Studies on Mental Health and Caregiver Burden

http://medical.cloud-journals.com/index.php/IJANSP/article/viewFile/Med-18/pdf

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2936431/

BACKSTAGE IN BISCUITLAND // Touretteshero

Brainchild of Jess Thom, who performs under the name Touretteshero, Backstage in Biscuitland is a challenging stage show featuring Thom and performer Jess Jones. The show is part lecture, part participatory activity, part puppet show, part singalong – the performance’s wild and shifting styles being a clear nod to the unpredictability of the neurological condition which Thom has lived with, particularly in its extreme form, since her early 20s.

Backstage in Biscuitland explores the particularities of Tourette’s Syndrome with a frank and humorous approach and feels miles away from disability or illness narratives which induce pity or words like ‘suffering’ or ‘brave’. Once the audience realises they truly can laugh with/at these tics which are the subject of so much public fascination, they can also open themselves up to Thom’s poignant and political reflections on inclusivity and the gutting true stories of Thom’s exclusion from a number of cultural spaces.

The most resounding feature of Backstage in Biscuitland is not Thom’s tics – although they are magnificent and fascinating to watch – but the relationship between Thom’s and co-performer Jones, which serves as a model for how one can live independently without living or working alone. With the recent closure of the Independent Living Fund and cuts to the  Access to Work scheme Thom’s engagement with her performance facilitator, and Thom’s and Jones’ seemingly genuine friendship resonates deeply – one doesn’t need to stand alone in order to be independent, and, in fact, independence is perhaps most beautifully demonstrated through effective partnership, exchange and a recognition of our capabilities and our limitations.  (BL) 

BACKSTAGE IN BISCUITLAND Touretteshero Pleasance Courtyard, Venue 33, August 24-30. Wheelchair Access, Level Access, Hearing Loop, Audio Described, Relaxed Performances, BSL Interpretation available. https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/backstage-in-biscuit-land

For more about Jess Thom and Touretteshero: http://www.touretteshero.com/

http://www.whatsontv.co.uk/tv-news/news/meet-jess-thom-the-channel-4-continuity-announcer-with-tourettes-syndrome-video#

http://www.unlimitedimpact.org.uk/access-to-tears/