Try sitting down and taking on those destructive thoughts that push you to the abyss. That’s not funny. But this show is funny.
‘Fix My Brain’ is a comedic narrative play created by Ollie and Dillon. It doesn’t make light of our mental health issues. It isn’t about glib solutions or ‘looking on the bright side’. It’s about being upfront about the medical profession and those who suffer.
We caught up with them at rehearsals in the Warren. Ollie is a junior doctor turned performer who sees the problems people have in getting support from the medical profession. Dillon draws from experience of depression and how to deal with it.
These two writer–performers cut their teeth on the Cambridge comedy scene. They started from student madcap comedy but have now created longer performance pieces that have toured in Edinburgh, Leicester, London and now Brighton. Their work has gone down well with young people and students but also with older audiences in comedy festivals.
What can you expect at the show? There are gags a minute – with sketches drawn from daily life – but the play is driven by a serious narrative. They use videos on the creative process itself and play with recurring sounds and acoustics as dramatic cues.
This play will appeal to anyone who has lived with, in or around, mental health issues. At times, people have had the ‘ah-hah!’ cathartic feeling during a performance: a sense that ‘I’ve been there’. But this is not a niche play, nor is about instructing or advising. It’s a comedy that’s seriously funny.
Catch the show in the Warren (Burrow) lunchtimes (12th and 13th May) or early evening (21st and 22nd May). Tickets here.