The missing puzzle piece of disability and mental ill health represented on stage

Posted on 24 May, 2024

For Rebus Theatre actor Nicki, being on stage is a vital form of self-expression.

“I need to channel my rage, channel the singing and making-a-song-and-dance-of-it into something practical and helpful. I use music and singing to soothe, and I wanted to contribute these to something.”

Nicki is part of a cast in the final stages of preparation for Rebus Theatre’s upcoming production of The Art of Disruption.

Devised and performed by actors with lived experience of both mental ill health and disability, The Art of Disruption takes the audience on a journey to witness a drama involving a troupe of activist actors, the spectre of corporate interference, and a fantastical tale of dragons.

The third play in Rebus Theatre’s Flair program, where the cast is selected from Rebus’ community theatre programs and networks to enhance their artistic development by devising and performing a professional show, the production is co-directed by Sammy Moynihan and Melissa Gryglewski.

Melissa said it was vital that the lived experiences of people with disabilities and mental illness was represented on stage.

“At some point, absolutely all of us will be touched by mental ill health or something happening with our body or how things operate, that will impact how we relate to ourselves and the world. This is very human. People navigate these things every day with great tenacity, however, due to shame, the bigotry of perceived unworthiness, or the experience of being left behind, many experiences are seldom talked about, leaving us all to navigate these situations alone, or anew,” she says.

“Collective stories provide a medium for us to learn from each other. They guide our expectations for what we make of others and in turn how we support or limit them. Collective stories also broaden our understanding of what is possible and okay for ourselves. Theatre – a fundamentally collective experience – is a powerful medium to do this because bodies are built to respond to each other in real time.”

Nicki, who “left home at 16 to join the circus” credits her time at Narrabundah College and her “surrogate parent” drama teachers of Ernie Glass and Peter Wilkins with showing her a way through life via theatre, said she could not put into words her love of Rebus.

“The feeling of how accommodated and appreciated and even valued for things that we’ve all been ostracised for is gold.”

Rebus started in 2013 as a community project to develop theatre-based workplace training to promote disability awareness, while providing paid performance opportunities for actors with disability.

In July 2014 after initial success, the members of the group decided to continue working together and formed Rebus Theatre.

The name comes from a puzzle where pictures are used to represent words – pictures of an eye, a can of soup and the ocean could mean ‘I can see’ and Rebus Theatre offers puzzles made of images and stories surrounding elevating the voices of those who have experience marginalisation, inviting audiences to take part in conversation about societal challenges and help find solutions together.

Melissa said the show was unique “in that we have created a very funny and relatable piece which invites the audience to be part of that conversation. The unique joy is that we have a deeply funny and generous cast — people who know what they want, and are fierce advocates for good humour, patience and the desire and determination to make the world better”.

The Flair program is funded by the Australian Government Department of Social Services with the first Flair program show The Beauty Thief contributing to Rebus winning a Canberra Critics Circle Award for Theatre in 2021 and Utopiate, in 2022 receiving rave reviews.

Nicki said her character in the production was a little like Quinni in Heartbreak High “and a little bit of a wannabe legal eagle like a cross between Agatha Christie, Sherlock Holmes, Snoopy…Pol is able to see things clearly, see patterns intuitively, even though people doubt their insight… at first. Astrophysics informs Pol a lot, time space and matter really matter. Pol is keen on buy nothing communities and reclaiming and creating safe spaces as well as researching family history and talking in circles because of a traumatic brain injury. Pol lives with chronic pain. Pol is a flaneur.”

And while she was extremely nervous for the upcoming performance, she was just as excited to spend six full days in the theatre.