Theatre work to give voice to Athlone woman's experience of psychosis
By Rebekah O'Reilly
Athlone native Nikola Beaumont is set to appear in The Mirror Stage, a powerful new production exploring the lived experience of psychosis.
The opportunity came about when 21-year-old Nikola was working alongside a PhD students at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), sharing her lived experiences with mental illness. She and four other Public and Patient Involvement (PPI) contributors were told their stories would help inform the narrative of the production.
“I was one of five PPI people who spoke to the Brokentalkers and shared our lived experience to help them shape the show. Each of us came in for interviews, talking about our childhood, our lives, and our experiences with psychosis. After that, Brokentalkers wanted to explore my story more in depth and incorporate it into the performance,” Nikola told the Westmeath Independent.
Nikola began rehearsals for the show in September and said that while it has been challenging at times to share such a vulnerable story, it has also been deeply rewarding.
“Even now, when they might read out a part that’s about me, I will get emotional. I think, ‘that girl was so young, that shouldn’t have happened,’ but that girl was me,” she said.
A former member of Starlight Dance Company in Athlone, Nikola says returning to performance has been a healing experience.
“I was always on stage, so in a way, it was like healing my inner child. It’s nice to see the two worlds of performance and my mental health advocacy work coming together. It is hard, but it’s fulfilling at the same time because I know that it will open conversations for other people who are struggling.”
With performances by Diarmuid Armstrong, Kévin Coquelard, Bun Kobayashi, and Carolina Wilkinson, The Mirror Stage challenges audiences to consider what happens when the world you perceive no longer matches the one everyone else agrees on.
The production premieres at Project Arts Centre (Space Upstairs), Dublin from November 5 to November 12, before a single Cork performance at The Everyman on November 18. Blending movement, video, and sound to “make the invisible visible” the show gives voice to those who have lived through psychosis.
“The whole point of the performance is to break the stigma and show people that they’re not alone and that there is help out there,” Nikola said.
Developed in collaboration with the Department of Psychiatry at RCSI and the PSI-STAR research network, the piece continues Brokentalkers’ tradition of amplifying unheard voices, following acclaimed works like The Examination and The Blue Boy.
“I think it’s really important to have these types of things, because it’s not talked about enough. I didn't do my Leaving Cert, so to be part of all of this kind of makes me feel like I’ve accomplished something, especially because it’s helping other people going through the same struggles that I went through,” Nikola added.