Guest Blog: Yolanda Mercy On One-Woman Show QUARTER LIFE CRISIS

In the summer of 2014 I decided that I wanted to write a play. A play which would give me a platform and would allow me to tell stories that aren't always shown in the mainstream. So I took to paper and wrote my first play, On The Edge Of Me: a piece exploring graduate unemployment and mental health issues.

I was fortunate to win the last IdeasTap brief: the Rich Mix Big City, Small Story Award. Winning that award changed my life. I started working closely with Jade Lewis (who is now my long-term collaborator) and we took our play across the UK, in the hopes of telling a story that we felt was not readily available because of the labels that society has placed on us.

Through touring On The Edge Of Me, including a sell-out run at the Soho Theatre, I was started to become more visible in terms of opportunities. These opportunities led from residencies to becoming Associate Artist at Ovalhouse Theatre.

Over the past two years, I've met a lot of solo theatre performers and writers who are keen to get work on, but are unsure why, how and when. As an emerging artist I find times when I question myself, but it's the wonderful audiences who continue to support my work that push me to keep going. Even if it's challenging. However, I maintain my strength and optimism in theatre when I see artists create work that's entertaining and thought-provoking.

When I develop my shows, I always keep my audiences in mind by asking "Would I pay £5 for this?" When I investigate this further, I figure out if I really want to turn an idea into a piece.

Since June 2015, I have had that audience in mind, every time I wrote, and now we're rehearsing for Quarter Life Crisis. This piece is like a mini concert: we take the audience on an emotional rollercoaster in the hopes of empowering their voice. Empowering their stories. Empowering their uniqueness.

Quarter Life Crisis is a piece which I've been told resonates with a lot of people's experience of being alive in the 21st century. I've had audiences say "I can really relate to this story. It felt like my life." I love when I hear that, because it makes me feel like my work is clearly speaking to someone and has a place in contemporary theatre.

Quarter Life Crisis at Ovalhouse Theatre 13-15 April

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