Crew and Creatives
Cast
Theatre
Measured follows a the life of Sophie after she leaves an eating disorder recovery unit and how it impacts the lives of people around her. Written by Emma O'Brien, a woman who not only worked with people who suffer from these disorders, she herself is recovering from Anorexia.
The highlight of the performance was the acting and depth of understanding the actors had to their characters. Juliette Burton is phenomenal, she truly embodied Sophie as a vulnerable girl who is disgusted by herself and can't help but to take it out on everyone around her. April Hughes' experience as Moaning Myrtle in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child really shines through; she is believable in a role that could look pathetic and easily over expressed and we really connect to her as she becomes the audience's little sister as well as Sophie's. Aaron Phinehas Peters buries himself in Tom who loves Sophie but realises he has to prioritise himself, misunderstanding Sophie's disorder as her thinking he's not enough for her to get better.
There is no multi rolling in this piece, meaning we only interact with three characters which gets stale. There is also no direct audience, meaning all monologues are therapy sessions, phone calls or the actors talking to someone off stage. I honestly wished I loved it but I kept zoning out despite how strong the acting was.
The sensitive themes were approached with respect. Sophie's conversations with her therapist gave an insight to the reality of the disorder.
"It's not about the food. Food is just the easiest way to do it"
It delves into how helpless everyone around Sophie felt when she was getting worse. Lucy's final conversation to the school councillor is absolutely heart breaking as she breaks down about how sad it makes her that her sister and friend are going through a hard time and she can't help them. As someone with experiences of bad mental health it felt especially personal, forcing me to take a step back and examine how difficult those periods were for the people in my life.
The piece finishes with a beautiful scene where Sophie fights with her affliction and eating an apple crumble her sister made - struggling but persevering. It is hopeful and real. It doesn't lul you into a thinking everything is suddenly better; it shows that her recovery journey is continuing and won't be easy.
Measured was a bit disappointing. It was just too simple for my liking, especially with a topic that could really explore the internal struggle of life with such issues. A movement piece would have been nice at least.
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