Though This Be Madness

***PLEASE NOTE THIS PERFORMANCE HAS BEEN CANCELLED BY THE THEATRE COMPANY DUE TO COVID- RELATED ISSUES***

“Once upon a time… I don’t have time! “

Award-winning writer and performer Skye Loneragan brings her fragmented portrayal of motherhood, sisterhood and experience of loved ones debilitating mental illness.

Not all stories wrap themselves around a beginning, a middle and an end. New motherhood doesn’t afford the time for that kind of structure. Though This Be Madness is an inventive and darkly humorous story of many sisters that delves into the combined challenges of new parenting alongside loved ones struggling with psychosis and depression. The themes explored in this powerful semi-autobiographical work speak directly to every woman’s personal experience of juggling with humour, honesty, and compassion.

In this fractured fiction told through poetry and performance with a beautiful musical score co-created by Mairi Campbell, we meet a recovering mum bouncing on a Pilates ball in The Land of the Lounge Room, determined to soothe her baby so she can finish her sentence and tell us this tale. Unable to reach her sister Ophelia, who wrestles with a cataract on what Shakespeare calls the ‘mind’s eye’, she attempts to ‘stay on the ball’. Wondering what delusions we might all share, she questions the silent war many of us are waging – with little ones, with loss or with prams that don’t fold easily; and considers how can we nurture our collective sanity?

Supported by Creative Scotland & SMHAF.