Saturday May 14th & Sunday May 15th, 2016 @ 4pm

The Warren Main Stage, St Peter’s Church, York Place, Brighton BN1 4GU

Tickets: £11 (£9.50 concessions)

‘Hysterical’, a groundbreaking dark comedy at the Brighton Fringe, explores the boundaries of mental health and sanity in the 21st Century.

June’s just landed her dream job at a high-octane advertising agency. But when her first task is to re-brand water, she gets the feeling she might be in over her head. Desperate to please, she puts aside her duties of caring for her brother to prepare a pitch that will blow her new boss away. As the pressures mount in her new workplace and the disconnection from her brother grows, June’s mental health is sent into a downward spiral, leaving her questioning her sanity.

After her catastrophic collapse, June returns to seek solace in her brother. Finding the courage to speak, he tells her a tale to reconcile their relationship.

Grappling with the sanctity of sanity, this darkly comedic play blends bold new writing with physical theatre, clowning and puppetry.

Drawn from her own personal experiences with mental health and institutionalisation ‘Hysterical’ writer Karis Halsall has created a piece that explores the question of whether it’s actually possible to be ‘well’ in our society, surrounded by never-ending pressures and the need to achieve and please.

“Everybody has ‘mental health’, just like everybody has physical health,” says Karis. “It’s not a case of one person being ‘mad’ and another person being ‘sane’. Or one person being ‘sick’ and another being ‘well’. It’s more, far more nuanced than that. Life pressures can cause anyone to struggle and feel off-balance.”

‘Hysterical’ is certainly a challenging piece, and doesn’t give the audience an easy ride. But they’ll find themselves laughing at the dark comedy of June’s situation – even if they think they shouldn’t be.

Buy online at www.otherplacebrighton.co.uk

Twitter: @hoax_theatre @luminary theatre #hysterical