Mental Health Facilities. Funding Cuts. Family Dinners. Anyone has the potential to crack.
New mum Nadia is at crisis point and checks into the Head to Heath facility for some much needed respite. This new age facility provides free, around the clock mental healthcare as well as deluxe spa treatments, facials, yoga, cocktails and more… but is it all too good to be true?
Drawing upon real stories and interviews, this new work by Girls Act Good explores the often grotesque nature of mental health treatment for women over time, and aims to shine a light on women’s resilience in such circumstances, shedding shame and stigma for the future.
“Well researched and very well written” – Melbourne Observer
“All the performers demonstrate a vast array of skill and talent” – Stage Whispers
“Girls Act Good Acting Up Beautifully” – FilmInk
Content Warnings: Mental Illness, suicide and self-harm, pregnancy/ childbirth, Post Natal Depression, depictions of violence, discussion of abuse and sexual assault, sexism and misogyny, course language, hateful language directed at religious figures.
Production by Girls Act Good
Written by Lisa Dallinger and Jennifer Monk
Directed by Jennifer Monk
Research & Creative Development by Lisa Dallinger, Jennifer Monk and Shanon Kulupach in association with Girls Act Good
Cast: Jennifer Monk, Lisa Dallinger, Laura Jane Turner, Joss McClelland, Sophie Lampel
Dramaturg: Perri Cummings
Voice Coach: Lisa Dallinger
Marketing/ Production Manager: Emma Caldwell
Lighting Design: Canada White
Production Design: Constance Washington and Jennifer Monk
Composer & Sound Designer: Lyndon Horsburgh
Technical Operator: Shane Grant
Image by Darren Gill
Supporting Note from Girls Act Good:
‘Slightly Cracked’ is a dark comedy and has been in development for three years. The collective went through a thorough creative development process, primarily focusing on women’s experiences in mental health institutions from the past through to the present, and exploring whether these places (particularly those of the past) helped women or in fact broke them in mind, body and spirit. This extensive research examining mental health treatment, and the buildings that house them, informs the play, its characters and events. Research consisted of excursions to ‘asylums’, research projects on specific people and institutions, interviews with people with mental ill health and people with experience being in mental health facilities, surveys from carers of people with mental ill health, surveys from people working in the mental health sector, along with the GAG members own personal experiences.
Access Information:
Visual rating 50%: Events are partly subtitled or include dialogue, background music and/or sounds, so d/Deaf and hard of hearing audiences can have some engagement with the event.
Aural Rating 50%: Has both sound and visual components, but sight isn’t essential to be able to engage with the event.