Theatre Royal Stratford To Release New Film HYSTERICAL! THE HILARIOUS HISTORY OF HYSTERIA

Theatre Royal Stratford East today announces that it will release a new film HYSTERICAL! THE HILARIOUS HISTORY OF HYSTERIA written and performed by Rebecca Buckle. Directed by Mina Barber and videography and post-production by Ben Pugh, the show will be available to watch for free via Theatre Royal Stratford East's YouTube Channel www.youtube.com/TheatreRoyalStratfordEast and website www.stratfordeast.com/Hysterical from 12 noon on Monday 29th March 2021. Captioned, audio described and BSL-interpreted versions will be available.

Hello, my name is Rebecca and I'm a hysterical woman.

From Plato to Freud, witches to suffragettes, discover everything you never knew you needed to know about the history of hysteria.

In a riotous comedy-lecture, join Rebecca (along with a puppet or two) for an eye-opening expedition into this fascinating 'diagnosis' and follow her own personal quest to shake off a label that has been placed on women for over 2,500 years.

Theatre Royal Stratford East Artistic Director Nadia Fall said:

We're really excited to be collaborating with Rebecca. Her story, which is rooted in her own experiences, is told with great wit whilst also shedding light on an alarming history of women being ignored, patronised and misdiagnosed. Hysterical also forms part of our ongoing ambition to champion D/deaf and disabled artists and work.

Rebecca Buckle is a writer and theatre maker based in the East of England. Her work, rooted in applied theatre practices, revolves around autobiography and the representation of marginalised communities. Particularly exploring the representations of pain and disability on stage. Central to her writing, however, is the ability to find humour in the bleakest of situations and add a layer of levity to the work she produces. Additionally, to writing and performing Rebecca works as an applied theatre practitioner and puppet maker. She is currently a creative associate for the Colchester Pride Festival.

Mina Barber is a Writer and Director and was invited to join the BBC London Voices Group in 2018 and was commissioned as part of a group of writers to write monologues for the Hear Me Now project, which was published in 2018 and presented as part of a Festival at Theatre 503 in February 2020. Most recently Mina was invited to join BBC Writersroom Drama Room 2020/2021 where her script was selected from over 3,000 submissions. Mina is also about to start a 1 year placement with BBC Children's in house team. As a director for Theatre and Film Mina has worked with the Young Vic on the award winning playwright Ross Willis' A Million Fuckboy Sperms as part of the Young Vic Directors Programme. She has also worked with Theatre Royal Stratford East King Hedley II, Theatre 503 and most recently in the West End as an Assistant Director on the critically acclaimed and Olivier nominated BBC comedy Upstart Crow by Ben Elton starring David Mitchell.

For film Mina has directed two shorts with Slackline Productions titled I Dreamed I was Brigitte Macron and with Kick it Down Productions titled 3,800 miles both recorded during lockdown. Most recently Mina directed a production of A Dolls House adapted by Tanika Gupta at the Central School of Speech and Drama that was live recorded and will be streamed in January 2021.

To post a comment, you must register and login.