'Mess'

‘We’re putting on a play. It’s about anorexia – but don’t let that put you off!’

        On Saturday night I dragged my boyfriend along the 50minute tube journey across London to Battersea Arts Centre to see a play called ‘Mess’, written by the hugely talented Caroline Horton. I didn’t know a huge amount about the play – simply that it was about anorexia and had received great reviews – but since working with Beat, my default setting has been set to responding with an immediate “I’ll be there!” to anything referring to eating disorder awareness.

         The play opened to a collective guffaw at the hilarious entrance of Sistahl (played by Seiriol Davies), who served throughout the play to lighten the mood in order to get across a serious message whilst maintaining the audience’s enjoyment. The audience was then taken on a safari of emotions, from the heart-warming commitment of the main character, Josephine’s, friend (Hannah Boyde) in willing her to get better despite struggling to understand her affliction, to the painful struggle of Josephine herself fighting the pro-ana and pro-recovery voices in her head.

        The topic of anorexia, in fact mental health in general, is so often tainted with stigma to the extent that society shies away from discussing it. It was refreshing, therefore, to be presented with the stark reality of the life of an anorexic, which is more often than not kept hidden away behind a screen of normality. I believe that ‘Mess’ will have gone some way to helping those who saw it develop a better, and truer, understanding of eating disorders, and force them to challenge the stereotypical view of ‘why don’t they just eat?!’. 

        For me, however, it was 70 minutes in which I once again felt the camaraderie and solidarity of the shared experiences which I had not found to this extent since my own hospital treatment three years ago. The ‘in jokes’ surrounding GPs’ incompetence in the subject, therapists’ claims of ‘making progress’ without defining said progress and choice of a ‘Go Ahead’ bar over cake made me feel able to laugh at the topic without at all making light of it – a balance which I think is exceptionally hard to achieve but was done impeccably by Horton!

        My boyfriend’s only criticism was that he worried the ‘unfinished’ ending could risk undoing all his hard work in persuading me that full recovery is possible, but I absolutely loved the fact that Horton (or rather Josephine) refused to allow the play to end finitely! Yes, I agree with my boyfriend that giving a sufferer the mindset that recovery will never be complete is dangerous because it suggests it is OK for them to fall into the trap of acceptance rather than determination, but I saw ‘Mess’ as a way of raising awareness in those with little knowledge of eating disorders: not a way of treating those who suffer from them! Therefore it seemed apt to stress that the mental turmoil of an eating disorder does not stop when the patient is released from hospital – it takes far, far longer! Years after supposed recovery (in the eyes of the outside world) I am only now beginning to reach a point where anorexia is almost wiped out.

        All in all a perfect mix of humour and emotion which cut right to the heart of anorexia and portrayed the mindset incredibly believably. I can only hope that Horton and the company bring ‘Mess’ back for another tour so that I can send everyone I know to go and see it! 

For more info, go to: http://www.carolinehorton.net/