Winner of the Judges’ Award in the prestigious Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting (UK), Australian playwright Kendall Feaver’s THE ALMIGHTY SOMETIMES is a profound and unflinching look at mental health and the medication of children and it is coming soon to Griffin Theatre.
The Guide had the chance to speak to one of the cast, Brenna Harding who plays Anna, a young woman has been medicated for a range of mood and behavioural disorders for as long as she can remember. Now Anna wants to know what life would be like without pills and prescriptions.
SAG: Thank you for taking time out of what must be a busy rehearsal schedule to speak to our readers. Can I begin by getting an idea of what is the meaning and significance of the title?
BRENNA: One of the benefits of having a wonderfully talented playwright is that things such as this title have many nuanced interpretations and I expect each audience member will take something different from it. Personally, I feel the juxtaposition of these two words speaks to the clash of Anna’s almighty spirit against the impossibility of ever fully understanding the effects her diagnosis and treatment have had on her.
SAG: She certainly sounds like a multi-faceted character to play. Was it that challenge that drew you to the character of Anna?
BRENNA: Anna is wonderfully intelligent; she loves to play with words and ideas and her brain is a treasure trove of interesting information. She approaches the world in a way that is unashamedly unique and naturally creative. The reason this play is such a beautiful incubator for her story is because it allows these things to become a driving force behind her desire to understand herself without medication, making this story one of identity and independence, beyond the themes around mental illness.
SAG: You must have done a lot of research, does Anna’s condition have a diagnosis and do you come down on one side or the other about medication?
BRENNA: I come down on the side of; these things are ridiculously complex and there is no one size fits all solution. I definitely had some late night YouTube spirals but my most valuable research was talking to friends who have been diagnosed with mental health disorders and medicated, who were generous enough to answer my limitless supply of questions. The main wisdom I gained here was that the same diagnoses can speak to a plethora of experiences and I think Kendall’s choice not to reveal Anna’s exact diagnosis in the script reinforces this insight and allows the human themes to come to the forefront of the play.
SAG: You have terrific director in Lee Lewis and cast mates in Hannah Waterman, Penny Cook and Shiv Palekar but it certainly sounds like difficult material. How has the rehearsal process been and how do you wind down?
BRENNA: The actors I’m surrounded by are indeed bountifully talented, caring, and compassionate individuals. I’m lucky enough to have worked with Lee before and I stand by my early proclamation that I could happily work with only her directing for the rest of my career- she is insightful, feeling, and in tune with the needs of actors from both a personal and performance perspective. Having these four and the wonderful team at Griffin has definitely made me feel looked after in facing the heavy themes of the play.
I’ve developed a self-care practice around rehearsals which I will carry into the run, the main pillar of which is keeping my time open to decompress (read: binge watch Rupaul’s Drag Race in bed). I imagine once we start meeting audience members and hearing their personal stories we will have to explore new strategies for looking after ourselves emotionally but I expect lots of hugs will make the cut.
SAG: Yes, it sounds as if the audience will want to share their experience with the cast in all sorts of ways. It’s quite a long season, 27 July – 8 September, are you resting up after or moving on to another project?
BRENNA: We tour to Geelong until the 15th of September but after that I’ll be finishing up university for the semester and producing various work, including a Sydney Fringe Festival show ‘This Wide Night’ with my company Lume Productions. [Facebook] I have another theatre project on the horizon (unfortunately not announced yet) so can look forward to that in early 2019.
SAG: Best of luck for this season and beyond and thanks again for speaking with our readers.
THE ALMIGHTY SOMETIMES from Griffin Theatre Company [Facebook] will play at the SBW Stables Theatre from 27 July to 8 September
