ZooNation: Elevating consciousness about psychological well being by theatre

Welcome to Wonderland. The stage is about for ZooNation dance firm’s manufacturing of The Mad Hatter’s Tea Get together at London’s Linbury Theatre.

Over-sized cups and saucers, laden with delicious-looking treats, stand subsequent to teapots of many colors, able to be wheeled on for rehearsals. However there are various different props that weren’t featured within the much-loved story by Lewis Carroll – Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

On this adaptation, a physician’s white coat is hanging up and case information in brown binders labelled March Hare, Queen of Hearts, Mad Hatter, White Rabbit and Alice, are strewn throughout a desk.

The information belong to Dr Ernst Sven Sjogren-Kvist, an knowledgeable in “normalisation”, performed by Tommy Franzen. His job is to repair individuals who have been locked away for not being “regular”.

Kate Prince, choreographer and founding father of ZooNation, needs this manufacturing to open discussions round psychological well being.

Her goal is to problem viewpoints round what is taken into account regular: “What does our trendy society understand as regular? My discovery in life and the theme of the present is there is no such thing as a such factor as regular.

“It is throughout psychological well being challenges and it is also about the advantages of music and dance to your psychological well being, and the way they mean you can thrive and really feel liberated and free.”

Since 2017, the variety of younger individuals fighting their psychological well being has doubled, according to charity Mind.

Usually it’s troublesome for younger individuals to seek out the phrases to precise how they’re feeling, and it’s hoped productions like this may assist.

Jennifer Walters, govt director of social change at psychological well being charity Thoughts, says the humanities can help younger individuals with their psychological well being and assist them discuss it.

“We discovered that just about a fifth of younger individuals have had a dialog about psychological well being after listening to or studying about experiences conveyed in music, and almost a 3rd mentioned it helps normalise the subject of psychological well being,” she says.

“Discovering a technique of communication that feels best for you might be an essential first step in getting the assistance and help you might want.

“Seeing psychological well being experiences depicted on stage or on display screen or sharing the expertise of watching a present collectively and discussing afterwards, might be an effective way to open up these psychological well being conversations much more.”

The characters in Kate Prince’s manufacturing all face completely different challenges.

Alice is experiencing anorexia nervosa and physique dysmorphia. The Queen of Hearts has BPD (borderline character dysfunction) with excessive uncontrollable anger. Tweedle Dum has PTSD (post-traumatic stress dysfunction) and the White Rabbit has nervousness, melancholy and OCD (obsessive compulsive dysfunction).

Tommy Franzen, who performs Dr Ernst Sven Sjogren-Kvist, says his character is on a journey through the manufacturing, and his perceptions shift as soon as he has a greater understanding of what individuals are dealing with.

“Their behaviour could appear odd to many however while you hear their story, you begin to sympathise with them and their behaviour begins making sense,” he says.

“My character is an individual who at first of the present sees the world in black and white, proper or improper. This has in all probability come from his training, as he had solely simply graduated. Because the present goes on, all his beliefs get challenged and ultimately he loses his thoughts (or beneficial properties it) as expressed by a dance solo.”

The music on this manufacturing was created by Josh Cohen and DJ Walde, who labored alongside Kate Prince to deliver her narrative to life. It incorporates varied musical types, artists and influences, with every character getting their very own distinctive musical motif.

Ms Prince thinks the Mad Hatter’s Tea Get together will likely be a constructive theatrical expertise: “The present makes you are feeling alive and free, and impressed that the dancers and the singers are simply distinctive and the music is absolutely uplifting.

“It’s all the time good to strive one thing new. I’m all the time telling my daughter to strive one thing new,” she says.

ZooNation additionally gives industry-led workshops for varsity, group and academic teams, who want to uncover extra in regards to the inventive course of, choreography and the characters behind the present.

The Mad Hatter’s Tea Get together is on the Royal Opera Home Linbury Theatre, 4–24 September, 2024