GRANTED, it doesn’t have the most delightful name but there’s plenty to be found beneath SICK! Lab’s ungainly moniker.
Paving the way for the return of award-winning SICK! Festival in March 2017, the ‘lab’ is a four-day international arts programme exploring the most challenging experiences we live through, die from and ultimately make us who we are. From our own failing bodies to the imperfect world we inhabit, from the daily grind of modern society to conflict on a global scale, how do our life battles imprint themselves on our psyches?
It’s ironic that Only Fools and Horses’ least intelligent character sparked a nationwide philosophical debate
Spanning artists to academics, charities to clinicians, people from numerous disciplines will join to discuss the issues at the forefront of identity and trauma plus the questions we’re oft so reluctant to address. Why do we find it so hard to be alone with our own minds? Is our increasingly interconnected world actually making us lonelier than before? To what extent are we defined by labels of religion, ethnicity, nationality, gender and sexuality?
It may sound philosophical but, put simply, mental and physical well-being affects us all - which is why there really is something for everyone on SICK!’s inventive agenda. Here’s our pick of what’s on...
Bryony Kimmings joins partner Tim Grayburn for this critically-acclaimed drama which explores the issue of male depression: while it’s estimated that half of cases go undiagnosed, mental health-related suicide is the primary killer of men under 35 in the UK, making confronting it all the more important. Expect homemade music, stupid dancing, onstage arguments, tears and truths in this ‘wickedly warming’ Edinburgh Fringe First winner.
Bryony Kimmings and Tim Grayburn
Kim Noble chronicles one man’s attempts at connection, friendship and employment at B&Q in his ‘fearless and tender’ performance. Blending dark comedy and film, he of Bafta-nominated duo Noble and Silver and The Mighty Boosh takes visitors on a provocative journey through Facebook, tower blocks and 21st century loneliness.
Kim NobleOver one jam-packed day, On the Couch (certainly not the fence) explores topics as diverse as homelessness and Sartre. After an introduction from SICK! Festival’s Tim Harrison, the morning sees intertwining discussions on identity and troubled souls. Whilst French philosopher Jean Paul-Sartre stating that ‘Hell is other people’ sounds a bit farfetched, you can see where he’s coming from with Blaise Pascal’s wise words: ‘All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone’. With some doctors reporting up to 90% of cases being anxiety and/or depression-based, ever more people are turning to eastern practises like meditation to counteract the negative effects of western society. After all, have you ever seen an unhappy Buddhist monk? Yet many find being alone with their thoughts is frightening rather than liberating...here, both public and professionals try to pinpoint why.
After a one-hour lunch, the discussion continues with the theme of relationships - to both objects and people. From the bands we love and the football teams we support, to our countries and religions, they can offer comfort and self-realization whilst simultaneously oppressing and dividing us through conflict. The ‘us and them’ topic extends into ‘who is your neighbour?’ With a homelessness crisis on our doorstep, and suffering worldwide, where do we direct our compassion?
A roundup will cap off the day - for which you’ll doubtless need your thinking caps but leave feeling that much wiser.
Neighbours or 'the other'?
BAR FLIES PHILOSOPHY: THE TRIGGER’S BROOM PARADOX
It’s ironic that Only Fools and Horses’ least intelligent character, Trigger, unwittingly sparked a nationwide philosophical debate and that ‘Trigger’s Broom Paradox’ is now synonymous with that of Theseus and his ship. The paradox questions whether an object that has had all its components replaced remains fundamentally the same; for example Trigger’s broom, which - despite having seventeen new heads and fourteen new handles - he maintains is the very same one he bought twenty years ago.
So what happens when we replace the objects in question with ourselves? If our bodies and minds are constantly changing, what remains of the thing that I call ‘me’? Some may say the soul, others might struggle to see what lies beneath the labels of son, wife, father, employee... This late night event explores the interesting dilemma, in partnership with local theatre company Quarantine.
Such a lot of questions need plenty of discussion, with Open Space and SICK! Lounge events designed to encourage just that. As well as hosting ‘lab activators’ like Amsterdam’s Das Arts and international researchers, the lounge will provide a setting for films screenings, installations, pop-up performances... and, of course, impromptu discussions. Needless to say, if you still haven’t found the answers, there’s always next year’s festival...
SICK! Lab takes place at Contact Theatre from 9-12 March. More info at sickfestival.com
