The Eradication Of Schizophrenia In Western Lapland is an investigation of auditory hallucination that aims to de-stigmatise and normalise psychosis by providing an insight into the experience of a psychotic episode. The action follows one family’s experience of psychoses, using an intriguing form that simultaneously presents two plays separated by a free-standing wall. The audience is split in two (watching one story, then swapping places to see the other side) and the sounds from the other play create a sense of hearing things that aren’t there.
The writing and direction are incredibly safe in making sure the audience follows the dialogue properly instead of trusting us to appreciate the effect that a true polyphony of voices might bring. After an initial period of disorientation it becomes easy to follow both stories: simple dialogue, long pauses and minimal narrative depth work alongside a surprisingly ordered blending of voices. This careful orchestration makes the “chaos of psychosis” an easy-to-follow experience for the large part and greatly diminishes the result that two simultaneous plays might have delivered.
Performances are mixed, with touring artists David Woods and Jon Haynes clearly more familiar with the material than local performers Ben Grant and Nicola Gunn. As a result one of the two plays feels underdeveloped and is in definite need of firmer direction. Despite this it is a unique experiential performance well worth being a part of.
Arts House, Meat Market.
