Friday and Saturday evenings this weekend, were spent performing with my colleague Dan Webber as Parky Players at the Wandsworth Fringe Festival.
We were fortunate to have chosen the Balham Baptist Church as our venue, which turned out to be a lovely building with great facilities and run by Leisa who couldn’t have been more helpful.
Whilst audiences over the two days weren’t large, the saying “quality not quantity” was true of those that came to see these two shows.
This was particularly apparent when some thought-provoking questions were posed as part of the conversational part of the show.
One member of the audience asked whether the main purpose of Parky Players is still to raise awareness of Parkinson’s or have the therapeutic benefits for those involved taken over as the primary motivation for carrying on.
My initial reaction was that we started out doing it primarily to raise awareness of Parkinson’s, but increasingly that’s been overtaken by the positive effects of performing on our mental and physical well-being. Then I gave the question some more thought and whilst It’s true that self-esteem and confidence can be positively affected by doing this, it’s fragile. The rewards are high, but the risks of feelings of failure and self-doubt are higher.
Of course all performers regardless of health issues face these risks and challenges, but they are surely amplified by the 47 plus symptoms Parkinson’s Disease brings; anxiety, depression, apathy to mention just three.
We continued discussing the positive health benefits of performing whilst living with disability. That these activities can reduce social isolation, increase acceptance, and ultimately reduce the feelings of shame and embarrassment.
Recognising this is powerful medicine, I’d like to hear what other performing artists with disabilities about their experiences to better understand what prevents theatre and comedy being more widely accessible.
If you feel you can contribute to the discussion, please message me with the best way I can contact you.
Thank you,
Janet
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