“[The Fool Eater] was a really honest and refreshing discussion and exposition delivered with lovely comic touches. I for once, felt very comfortable with some of the themes […] explored.”
The Fool Eater: Urban Loneliness and Mental Health. An Interactive Story (2019)
for young non-binary men and any lonely Londoners
The project was funded by the Arts Council England.
in collaboration with Goldsmiths, University of London and Dan Skili’s Gay and Bisexual Men’s
Wellbeing Group, CityLit, Covent Garden
Project description: Medieval fools in modern London
After the story performance, the audience recreated the themes from the story actively. Here, a humorous take on modern society: a glimpse into a support group called ‘Loners Anonymous’
An unusual take on Wagner’s master singer Hans Sachs, The Fool Eater used one of the medieval farces of Richard Wager’s favourite shoemaker and poet to address contemporary questions of loneliness, obesity and sexual identity in form of a humoristic reading. In the original story, a medieval quack doctor cures a patient of his sins by operating personified vices out of him in grotesque fashion. Our interactive storytelling event deployed the medieval blueprint and updated it for people who struggle with the norms in British society today and feel isolated or marginalised. Through moments of audience interaction, such as eating brownies at a particular moment in the story or blowing a duck whistle, the performers and the audience shared the performance experience and thereby created an inclusive climate to counterbalance feelings of isolation and loneliness.
He lived in a flat in Hackney, between old industrial buildings, late Victorian houses and a whole hipster empire. Cheering sounds from the nearby theatre sharpened his loneliness.
“I really enjoyed the interactivity of The Fool Eater, having illustrations of the characters to colour in and the props to use during the performance was a great idea. It allowed the audience to participate and feel comfortable.”
Theatrical Concept: Between immersive happening and dramatherapy event
During the performative story reading, the audience was invited to engage in multiple ways: through visual projections, drawing exercises and quirky props such as duck whistles
“I enjoyed the show and feel that it would lend itself to useful material for drama therapy.”
The carefully designed modern fairy story aesthetic with its allusions to medieval grotesque humour and its open body dramas (Mikhail Bakhtin) provided a sensitive, but provocative way into a panel discussion around urban loneliness and body imaging. The event was situated within a caring dramatherapy environment and supported by dramatherapist Dan Skili and his Gay and Bisexual Men’s Wellbeing Group from CityLit. The story performance was followed by an open panel discussion with mental health experts and artists and a dramatherapy-friendly workshop. Illustrations by East London artist Selma Hafizovic in form of drawing templates and projections provided a multi-visual experience for different learning types during the story performance. During the story performance, the audience members were invite to create an unusual soundtrack with their props as an alternative way to illustrate a story with ‘noise’ and music in dialogue with traditions of music drama. Quirky subtitles in German and English created a barrier-free experience for persons with a hearing impairment.
One of Selma’s illustrations: main character Benny Carneby returning home with some unusual friends after his adventure of meeting the fool doctor.
“The most unexpected thing about The Fool Eater was how easily I could relate to the story. […] I was allowed, at the end of the busy work week, an unexpected moment of childhood play – colouring in, blowing duck quackers and ringing bells. But, most of all, I was happy to catch myself being encouraged, as I occasionally am, to discover that I am not alone.”
Find a digital version of the programme here.