With 90s pop, a costume box and a whole heap of glitter, Bright Places is a darkly funny and deeply honest autobiographical story about growing up in the shadow of chronic illness. This award-winning play about Multiple Sclerosis, MS for short, not to be confused with M&S or S&M, is written by Rae Mainwaring and directed by Tessa Walker.
Frustrated by the negative depictions of people living with MS, in Bright Places Rae Mainwaring explores her diagnosis of MS aged 23 that turned her world on its head. This three-woman, one-woman show plays with a theatrical form that reflects the unpredictability of life with MS, looking at how to live your ‘best life’ with constantly fluctuating symptoms and a future that is impossible to predict.
Bright Places examines learning to live with this ever-changing chronic illness. The play’s title refers both to the white patches of the MRI scan that show the scar tissue which cause Rae’s symptoms and also the Bright Places in which she hides in order to cope - her fantasy escapes of disco, feather boas and pop hits.
In Bright Places, theatre meets rave, meets hospitals and endless naps. It is real and raw, hopeful and funny. Rae Mainwaring comments, So much of my life; living with MS is unseen.
That’s a common experience so it’s exciting to finally make MS visible. Centre stage. People with MS rarely see themselves represented in an authentic way. This play delves into the complicated, knotty often contradictory relationship with an illness that is always moving the goal posts.
Ahead of the tour we sat down with Rae Mainwaring to learn more.
What can you tell me about Bright Places?
Bright Places is an autobiographical, slightly surreal play about living with MS. It’s a comedy, with some honest, often knotty exploration of illness. When you get thrown a curve ball and your life isn’t what you thought it might look like, how to rediscover who you are. It’s set at the start of the new millennium so some nostalgia for some, silliness for all and hopefully people will leave more informed about invisible illness. I developed the play in 2019 and sadly the pandemic saw our tour cancelled. What followed was years of plugging away in a landscape of funding cuts and venues being very cautious about programming. So, it’s so exciting to be finally getting the show made. We follow three actors playing versions of me in a play that can’t quite keep on track, much like life with an unpredictable illness.
What inspired to write the piece?
My own lived experience of being diagnosed with MS in my early 20’s. I’ve lived with MS for 20 years and I rarely see a portrayal I relate to; I wanted something that acknowledges the difficulties and celebrates wins. The MS community often feels misunderstood and I hope this can be seen as a love letter to those who live with chronic illness.
How easy/difficult is the process of writing something so personal as this piece?
At times extremely difficult. I naively thought I had come to terms with all my feels around my diagnosis and was shocked to find it brought up old feeling and new ones. I have the most brilliant director Tessa Walker, who has been a rock throughout the whole process. I also worked with Artist Well-being practitioner Lou Platt. We looked at ways I could make a piece of work that was vulnerable and asked difficult questions, without being so personally vulnerable that it became unhealthy. Part of that was also being a new writer, the process of sharing work with an audience is terrifying and that feels more intense when it’s about your life.
At times extremely difficult. I naively thought I had come to terms with all my feels around my diagnosis and was shocked to find it brought up old feeling and new ones. I have the most brilliant director Tessa Walker, who has been a rock throughout the whole process. I also worked with Artist Well-being practitioner Lou Platt. We looked at ways I could make a piece of work that was vulnerable and asked difficult questions, without being so personally vulnerable that it became unhealthy. Part of that was also being a new writer, the process of sharing work with an audience is terrifying and that feels more intense when it’s about your life.
How did you approach talking about your MS diagnosis and making it fun?
I’ve always loved the way comedy can welcome and relax an audience, so that when you delve into the tricker subjects it can surprise and challenge. Also, I didn’t want people to feel it was lecture, I wanted it to be a good night out. Being able to laugh at yourself is important and helps invite the audience to feel it’s okay to laugh even though the subject matter is serious. Life is often at its most darkly funny, when the shit hits the fan.
What is the biggest challenge when writing and developing a show like this?
How do you tell a story about something unresolved, living with MS is ever changing and there isn’t a cure, so how do you approach that? Not wanting to ask for pity, no one with an illness wants people feeling sorry for them. So, I wanted it to be empowering but also look at the darker edges.
What do you hope someone takes away from seeing the show?
I hope they come away from are show, feeling uplifted and humming some of the 90’s bangers. I hope they had a playful, entertaining night out, that hopefully was thought provoking.
Where did your arts career begin and how did you approach your career?
When I left University I worked as a Dresser, at Birmingham Rep, it was while I was working there backstage, that I got diagnosed- so it feels right that we open here. I struggled to find a career I could fit around my unpredictable health. 20 years ago, you were more likely to hide your illness rather than claim it. Reasonable adjustments and access riders just weren’t around.
I took a really long break from work while my kids were small as my fatigue was so bad. Once they started school, I felt I hadn’t fulfilled the dreams I’d had at university. I did some volunteering with a local theatre company who encouraged me to follow those dreams. I worked like crazy to play catch up and get back into the industry. I wrote a short piece that was performed in a rehearsed reading in 2018, and I haven’t looked back. I was in my late 30’s and I would never have believed I would end up where I am now.
Everything, I love it when I come across some new writing that inspires me to write. My family is a huge inspiration, luckily no one ever suggested I should get a “proper” job. Being around other artists is the most inspiring, being collaborative and supporting others with their work is so important.
Where can people see the show?
We open in Birmingham at the Birmingham Rep theatre and then we are off on tour. We’re going to Newcastle, Edinburgh, Leicester, Plymouth, London, Dorchester, Exeter, Taunton and Devon. Check out Carbon Theatre’s webpage for more details!
Visit https://www.carbontheatre.org.uk/bright-places for more details.
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