Staircase Theatre, “Psycho Bitch”:
Psycho Bitch: The Attack of the One Woman Show on Stigma
(for Mental Illness Awareness Week 2011)
“But I urge you to not be afraid, the title might put you off some” utters Tamara Lynn Robert in the first few minutes of Psycho Bitch. But that is precisely why she wrote this one woman show, because silence, shame and fear still surround mental illness. Robert’s play explores her own internalized stigma that led her to refusing the very treatment that would later save her life. Although it is a very serious topic, Robert speckles her story with humour and engaging story telling.
Performed on stages across the country in summer of 2010, she touched critics and audience alike with her “emotional, raw and genuine performance” (Mooney on Theatre). With one in five Canadians experiencing a mental illness during their lifetime, Robert feels it is crucial that we educate Canadians about mental illness to reduce the stigma associated with the disease that prevents many people from seeking and getting the help they need. Robert strongly believes in the arts as a powerful medium to educate, create change and Psycho Bitch is “certain to delight anyone who believes in the restorative powers of compassion and humour.” (Toronto Sun)
On October 2, 2011 Tamara Lynn Robert kicks off her own personal effort to fight the stigma that surrounds mental illness by remounting Psycho Bitch during Mental Illness Awareness Week. She hopes to bring this show to as many Canadian cities as possible over the next 12 months while not interrupting her job as a Mental Health Worker at Unison Health and Community Services. This personally funded tour is being booked in indie theatre spaces where the rent is affordable and overhead costs can be kept low. She has several dates lined up starting with Toronto, Hamilton, Sudbury, and is currently working to book dates in Regina, Saskatoon and beyond! For more information please visit: www.pkpinup.com
One Night Only
“There’s no escape when brains attack!”
P.k. Pin Up Productions presents:
Tamara Lynn Robert’s
Psycho Bitch
a theatrical endeavor to fight stigma for Mental Illness Awareness Week
Tamara is a mood disordered, medicated, sweetheart of a mess and she desperately needs help! On her journey towards healing, she battles a legion of demons, an onslaught of happy pills and one grotesque monster called Stigma. Her guardian angel, Geraldine, is her ever-present comfort in her comedic, heart-warming tale of living with mental illness.
The show’s writer/performer, Tamara Lynn Robert, tells her autobiographical tale of living with a brain that is broken. Diagnosed with several disorders, she takes you on an adventure through the variety of treatments she sought ranging from the ridiculous: exorcisms and psychic hoopla, to the more traditional: drug therapy and psychoanalysis. Psycho Bitch is her story of a quest for healing, her fight against stigma and the discovery of what we all really need to cope.
Hamilton
October 7, 2011 at 8 p.m.
The Staircase
27 Dundurn St. North
General Admission $15
Students, Seniors, Artists and Underemployed $10
Praise for Psycho Bitch:
“In a word: brilliant. Robert is both a charming storyteller and subtly poetic writer…”
4 and a half stars! Monday Magazine, Victoria BC
“… genuinely delightful. A personal, powerful performance.”
4 and a half stars, Uptown Magazine, Winnipeg MB
“…it’s beautifully performed in a strong staging by director Laura Anne Harris, …certain to delight anyone
who believes in the restorative powers of compassion and humour.”
Toronto Sun
“Tamara Lynn Robert makes for great company in this one-woman show about her personal struggles with mental illness.
Sensibly directed, with smart sound design, it’s a professional and charming piece, with a strong finish.”
4 stars Eye Weekly, Toronto, ON
“Tamara Lynn Robert gives an emotional, raw and genuine performance …Well-written…a tribute to those living with a disorder. It gives them voice. It gives them justice. But most of all, it reminds us that sometimes the greatest cure we can give someone, is love.”
Mooney on Theatre
“ Robert’s performance is stellar, expertly achieving a balance between comedy and thoughtful reflection,
enough to make you ponder your own preconceived notions of mental illness. As an expert storyteller,
she has audiences listening intently to her every word, genuinely empathizing with her roller-coaster of emotions.”
4 stars, Times Colonist, Victoria BC
