“I thought you were going to tell me I didn’t need the pills anymore,” says eighteen-year-old Anna (Max McKenna) to her child psychiatrist, Vivienne (Louisa Mignone). Anna has completely misread the tenor of the conversation, which was actually about the need for her to transition towards seeing a therapist trained to work with adults. This early moment encapsulates the key struggles of The Almighty Sometimes, a coming-of-age story illustrating a young woman torn between emancipation and comfort, with the reality of a never-defined yet ever-present mental illness adding layers of complexity to what would otherwise be a universally relatable tale.
This multi-award-winning drama by Kendall Feaver has been staged in Australia before by Queensland Theatre and Griffin Theatre Company, yet the issues explored in this iteration from Melbourne Theatre Company feel topical and fresh with tight direction from Hannah Goodwin.
Screen legend Nadine Garner (Savage River, Neighbours, City Homicide) plays Renee, a school teacher and dedicated mum to ‘troubled’ daughter Anna. Alongside Anna’s new boyfriend Oliver (Karl Richmond) and her psychiatrist, Renee grapples with supporting her daughter as she pushes against the routines and limits that kept her safe during her adolescence.
Having recently rediscovered pages upon pages of her childhood writings, Anna has begun to wonder if the version of her that existed before she went on medication was a child prodigy destined for literary greatness. She feels absolutely fine now, so who’s to say that she hasn’t been over-medicated for the past seven years? We the audience are left wondering what the reality is: does Anna have an uncommon talent tragically dulled by fistfuls of meds or textbook delusions of grandeur? Given the dark nature of her writings, perhaps the truth lies somewhere in the grey between these two polar opposites.
The Almighty Sometimes handles the sensitive topic of childhood mental illness with the utmost compassion. Rather than being afraid of the grey areas, this heart-wrenching drama embraces complexity and leaves most questions it raises unanswered. Even Anna’s illness remains unnamed, deftly avoiding set criteria or established stereotypes.
Just like with the diagnostic questionnaires Renee completed when Anna became ill, the most important insights in this play are not found when we tick the ‘always’ box or the ‘never’ box, but the one that says ‘sometimes’. We’re encouraged to examine the difference between the symptoms of Anna’s illness and what might simply be teenage petulance. “Being ill doesn’t make you a horrible person,” asserts Oliver, yet we can’t be sure that Anna’s behaviour and her condition are completely unrelated.
As Anna begins to spin out of control, so does Jacob Battista’s clever set. The suburban kitchen setup looks deceptively simple, but it soon becomes an obstacle or a maze giving us a glimpse into Anna’s inner state. Lighting from Amelia Lever-Davidson and sound design from Kelly Ryall serve to increase the tension as events reach their destructive climax.
The Almighty Sometimes is a well-executed exploration of mental illness led with devastating skill by McKenna and Garner. Bring your tissues and maybe your mum.
Catch The Almighty Sometimes at the Sumner at Southbank Theatre until May 18. Tickets cost between $50-125 and are available here.