Each month, Arts Council England includes some feedback from its own staff about work they’ve seen – and this month they are talking about Unlimited – so for example, here’s what Lucy Murray, Relationship Manager, Theatre had to say about Mad Gyms and Kitchens by Bobby Baker:
Mad Gyms and Kitchens is a playful reflection on Bobby’s personal experiences of mental health system following diagnosis of her personality disorder more than 10 years ago. Bobby expertly performs a series of informative and absurd demonstrations through her personalised package of ‘wellbeing’ equipment which results in a humorous and touching glimpse into the struggle and celebration of achieving wellbeing in a society confused by conflicting advice, diagnosis and classification.
The comments from staff are also accompanied by a short 3 min film (also available via YouTube) of some audience reaction – including feedback from John Snow and Charles Hazelwood. They grabbed Charles as he came out of Janice Parker’s Private Dancer – great to hear him talking about breaking down the divides between performer and audience.
And Ramesh Meyyappan’s show is described as ‘the best piece of physical theatre I have ever witnessed’ – all in all, pretty good going!
It’s great to see that Bobby’s latest show, Mad Gyms & Kitchens, continues to engage people and prompt reaction.
I would like to point out, however, that this particular feedback is factually incorrect in talking about ‘her personality disorder.’ As Bobby states at the beginning of the show, she roundly rejected the borderline diagnosis back in 1997, and ‘borderline personality disorder’ is in itself a highly contested term. Bobby has been fully recovered from mental illness for many years now.