Mental Health In Theatre

*Disclaimer* 

Mental health is something that I have always wanted to speak about but never really known how. I would like to point out that I am not an expert in the field and am speaking from my point of view, not from the point of view of a psychologist/psychiatrist/counsellor/doctor. 

*Trigger Warning*

In this post I will be writing about issues such as depression, bipolar and suicide. If these are issues that you feel sensitive about then please chose carefully if you read. 

My idea for writing something like this, began long before this blog did! I think really, Dear Evan Hansen sparked all this. But, in April, Patti Murin posted something on her Instagram about her anxiety. She had to miss a show due to having a panic attack. This show that not only is mental health/illness represented on stage in shows such as Dear Evan Hansen and Next to Normal, but it's represented offstage and in real life by the actors. And do you know what? I think it's about time! 

I'm firstly going to talk about the representation of Mental Health/Illness in shows. As previously mentioned, there are two very obvious shows that come to mind with this subject

• Dear Evan Hansen
• Next To Normal 

These are both relatively new shows that contain the subject of mental illness. In Next To Normal, the main character, Diane suffers from bipolar disorder. This is a very different story in Dear Evan Hansen because the story never goes into a great amount of detail about Evan's mental health. However, from the performance we can assume that Evan suffers from anxiety. Some people would even suggest that Evan is on the autistic spectrum but this is not something that I feel educated to write about, so I'll leave this for someone else to cover, or I may cover it when I feel I know enough to. 

But let's begin with the representation of mental illness in Dear Evan Hansen. I know its's the obvious place to begin but it's also the easiest and this is not an easy post to write. So, as mentioned above, the audience can assume that Evan has anxiety. He takes medication for it. One of the first interactions we see is between Evan and his mum. Even then we can see that he is apprehensive about everything. But for me, when his anxiety really shows is when he first bumps into Zoe Murphy. This interaction really highlights how socially awkward and uncomfortable person that Evan is. It's also shown during
his speech which leads into You Will Be Found. Admittedly by this point, it would not be strange for Evan to be feeling some level of anxiety because he is deep in lies and tied up with the Murphy family. 

There is of course another area of mental illness covered in Dear Evan Hansen. Suicide. Conor Murphy takes his own life and the musical looks at the grief that his family and friends go through. I think one of the key points that come up from this part of the story is the fact that

Conor's mum, Cynthia, wanted to send Conor for more therapy and treatment however, his father objected and believed that he was past the point of saving. This is an important area that doesn't get spoken about much. Cynthia and Larry represent different types of parent. Cynthia wants to do everything she can to help her son whereas Larry appears to be in some form of denial about his son's mental health. 

Next To Normal is not one of favourite musicals but it does cover the mental health problem of bipolar disorder. I don't think are many musicals that cover the issue of bipolar because it's harder to portray than depression. Bipolar disorder includes periods of a very bad depression and also manic highs. This is something very hard to portray in musical theatre. Next To Normal also shows the effect that mental illness can have in the rest of the family. This is something
very important because mental illness does not just effect the mentally ill person, it has a profound effect on the family and friends. Both Dear Evan Hansen and Next To Normal were directed by Michael Grief. I think this shows that Grief wants to portray a variety of characters. This can be seen in the two shows I discussed and also Rent. 

Next To Normal and Dear Evan Hansen give a modern prospective of mental illness but what about years ago? I'm sure most people have heard of the musical Blood Brothers. In the UK Blood Brothers is huge. It's had a West End run and many UK tours since it first opened in 1983. Although the musical opened in 1983 it is set mostly in the 1960s and 1970s. This was time when mental health was not discussed. If you think there was a stigma around mental illness 5 years ago then imagine the

stigma 60 years ago. I'm going to assume that most people know the story of Blood Brothers so there might be spoilers. If you don't know they story then you might want to go to the next paragraph. The story revolves around Mrs Johnstone, who has to give one of her twins to Mrs Lyons. Mrs Lyons' husband is not aware that this baby is not there and when Mrs Lyons is behaving erratically he assumes that she has a 'problem with her nerves'. In today's society, having a problem with your nerves after having a baby, would be classed as having postnatal depression or anxiety. Showing this in Blood Brothers portrays how much our society has progressed in recognising mental health problems. Also in Blood Brothers, Mickey gets prescribed antidepressants, which his wife tries to take off him. Nowadays, being in antidepressants is socially acceptable and there is much less of a stigma surrounding it. 

I asked you guys on Facebook what shows you think represent mental health/mental illness. Here are some of your replies:

• The Curious Incident of The Dog in The Night Time 
• Groundhog Day
• Waitress
• Fun Home 
• Heathers
• Everybody's Talking About Jamie

The next section of this post is about the actors and actresses that have spoken about their experiences of mental illness. I think this is something very important because being in any show, let alone doing a long run, 8 times a week, is very tough. Physically and emotionally. I'm going to discuss a few shows but, I'm going to begin with Dear Evan Hansen, again. 

Let's face it, Dear Evan Hansen is not the happiest of shows. Although some people may find the final scene in the Orchard uplifting, I personally do not feel that there is much redemption for some of the key characters. Zoe appears to be happier and have moved as much as she can, considering what's happened. On the other hand, for characters such as Larry and Cynthia, who have lost their son, I do not feel like there is any redemption. There is nothing that can replace what they have lost. Performing a show like this has go to be emotionally draining and I have read many interviews with
Jennifer Laura Thompson (who is currently playing Cynthia Murphy), where she says that she finds it very hard to go to such a dark place everyday. A lot of the cast of Dear Evan Hansen say that they have a backstage routine where at different points of the show, the actors check in with each other to cheer each other up. I imagine that in a show such as Dear Evan Hansen this goes a long way to keeping the cast's emotional wellbeing in good shape. 

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post (trust me that feels along time ago), Patti Murin spoke out about her anxiety and panic attacks. This then triggered a lot of other actors to step forward and disclose their own experiences of mental illness. Those who came forward and disclosed their struggles include Olivia Puckett of Dear Evan Hansen and Savannah Stevenson of the West End production of Wicked. Savannah said that she has suffered from performance anxiety but did not here. Personally,  I think it's amazing that by one person opening up can lead to a domino effect of others opening up.
want to tell the producers, in case they felt like she was incapable of doing her job. But she now understands that opening up about this would have made her life a lot easier. A link to this article can be found 

If you've made it to the end of this post then well bloody done to you!

I'm grateful to each and everyone of you who have read this! Thank you so so much

Georgia x 

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