Burning Attic’s Patient is a Verb takes a captivating path to dramatising trans individuals’s experiences of healthcare within the UK at Camden People’s Theatre
“Playing in non-binary mode is not advised”
One of the issues that’s most placing concerning the trans discourse that tends to pop up on occasion within the media is that it too not often – and likewise reveals little curiosity in – platforming precise trans voices – simply witness the Graham Norton’s remedy after suggesting the identical just some months again. So even the notion of a present “drawing on lived experiences of interviewed participants and an all-trans team” seems like a refreshing corrective to a minimum of a few of that.
Burning Attic’s Patient is a Verb is a theatrical response to the realities for trans individuals making an attempt their finest to navigate the healthcare system within the UK when there’s a 5 12 months ready listing to the Gender Identity Clinic. Taking the type of a retro video role-playing sport, a grim however decided sense of humour takes us by a number of ranges of gatekeeping, administrative hell and countless medical institutions as our gameplayer tries their finest to get by to the ‘end’.
It is a intelligent conceptualisation of the general theme and permits for the incorporation of so many its completely different points. Contrasting participant experiences (our protagonist right here has two helper buddies), message boards filled with questions and solutions concerning the ‘game’, and cheat codes and hacks to get previous significantly difficult obstacles like imply receptionists. With a lot analysis handy, it’s a canny option to efficiently combine a lot of this uncooked materials in a non-verbatim method.
A coda does see the present fall barely on the final. After what seems like a pure finish, an awkwardly structured sequence lays issues a bit too naked, the earlier subtleties turned to an inelegant directness that doesn’t fairly really feel wanted. Florian Lim’s path has moments of brilliantly noticed particulars – the videogame characters bouncing while being announcedis genius – and with additional growth, this devised present has the makings of one thing particular.