@ Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, on Thu 8 Oct 2015 (and touring)
It is Scottish Mental Health Awareness Week and so fitting that A Blank Canvas and Jabuti Theatre are in Edinburgh performing their collaborative production, In Her Shadows, showing the inner turmoil that can befall those who suffer from mental health issues.
The performance opens with dramatic music and lighting which is used throughout to portray the varying moods and situations that the main (and only) character, Amy, finds herself in. Both Debbie Robbins and Rachael MacIntyre play Amy in parallel in a bid to show conflicting emotions. This isn’t entirely clear from the beginning, as initially it appears as if one performer (Robbins) is perhaps playing the part of the depression which is weighing down on Amy. But as the performance continues, moments such as the two laying down in bed back-to-back and spinning together on the aerial hoop show the true intentions.
The aerial work is impressive without being spectacular and the same can be send of the dance work. However, the show has an energy, and the music is matched so perfectly to each mood represented that this doesn’t impact negatively on the overall performance. The two performers are accomplished in their dual role and each emotion is made obvious to the audience, the most dramatic being the aerial work on the rope when poor Amy is in meltdown.
The performers never speak to indicate these moments of meltdown but sporadic text messages to and from Amy’s mum show the crumbling relationship which may have brought her to this point, and as the show draws to a close a pre-recorded narration of Jenny Lindsay’s poem, Today, depicts the ongoing struggle she faces through a numbered scale – some days she’s a 10 and can conquer the world, others a 3 and it’s hard to even get out of bed. The poem, the movement, the music and the lighting all combine to create a poignant piece which bravely tackles a difficult subject.
Part of the Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival