“What’s your show about?” can be one of the most difficult questions to answer. But Greek theatremaker Antigoni Spanou has got to a point of no fear when discussing her autobiographical, Shakespeare-themed, one-woman show Ophelia Rewound, which gets its London premiere next month during Camden Fringe. She told us more about it. Time to get booking!
Intimate, autobiographical and interactive, Ophelia Rewound is devised, directed and performed by Antigoni Spanou inspired by Heiner Muller’s post-modernist Hamletmachine. It runs for four performances only at Camden People’s Theatre from 22 to 25 August 2019.
Exploring the person underneath the myth, Ophelia Rewound weaves intricate projection mapping, the story of Ophelia and theatremaker Antigoni Spanou‘s lived experience through depression to examine the stereotypes that sit around women and mental health.
Show trailer
Antigoni answers the question
“What is your show about?” I always found myself pausing, what seemed to be way too long for a normal pause, before answering this question.
If I’m honest, I used to dread this question. The fear of not answering “correctly”, of saying the wrong thing or, in the case of my current piece Ophelia Rewound, of saying too much.
I could talk about the themes, the aesthetic, the inspiration, but there was always something to the core of the piece that I couldn’t, or perhaps wouldn’t, verbalise.
And there lay the obstacle: “Keep it secret, keep it safe”.
I grew up in a society, in a culture, in an era, in a (small) town where speaking about mental health was a big no-no! You couldn’t talk about “weakness”, you couldn’t show the cracks, because people would gossip, people would judge.
And for many years, I followed that route, only to realise one day that, by caring too much about what other people thought, I didn’t care enough about myself.
So here I am now. The question arises from MyTheatreMates, and there’s no more fear. Ophelia Rewound is about Ophelia, but more importantly, it is an autobiographical piece. It is about going through heartbreak, falling down a very dark hole, suffering from depression, finding myself at the edge, being scared and asking for help, but also finding that strength, picking myself up and putting the pieces back together.
Because that’s what’s the main message of this piece is; to overcome our obstacles, to not be afraid anymore to show the scars and talk about mental health. Because we need to be there for each other, to be able to identify the signs and be ready to offer our hand so, in turn, we can help pick others up.
Full festival programme
For details on all 300+ shows in the 2019 Camden Fringe programme, visit the festival website
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