What is the matter with Mary Jane?

Theatre that educates and puts its audience in an empathetic position for the suffering, joy and triumph of another is what makes the performing arts so special. Within 60 minutes, you can leave the theatre with a newfound understanding of an issue, a person, a cultural way of life. When we learn, we grow. What is the matter with Mary Jane? is a beautiful illustration of the power of theatre in changing lives. The audience is given keen insight into the real-life story of Sancia Robinson’s battle with anorexia and bulimia. Mental illness is given a voice, an explanation and a cure. What a special gift for the audience.

Writers Wendy Harmer and Sancia Robinson set a playful, conversational tone, introducing 16-year-old Sancia. Sancia is admired by her friends for her lean frame and model-esque figure. The girl inside though is plagued with doubt and unease, driven by the desire for outward perfection. Harmer and Robinson hold no punches. They get very quickly to the kernels of truth. Sancia wars with food as if calories are the destroyers of her dreams. Sancia craves control of her life and finds it in the minute detail of what she puts in her mouth. Obsession takes hold and reality becomes ever distorted as the voices of reason around Sancia become more and more unrealistic to her ears. Sancia suffers from a mental illness. But she can be cured. She is cured with help from a psychologist and with support and love offered by her family, friends and colleagues.

Actress Gabrielle Savrone delivers Sancia’s words with charm and earnestness. This bright and bubbly teenager comes to life, making us smile and laugh at her wit. This makes us care for her all the more when we can see her in pain and crippling self-hatred.

The play is 20 years old and has travelled the world but it still speaks loud and clear to its modern audience. Why the Australian government doesn’t dedicate more money to mental heath is beyond any of our comprehension but it is theatre like this that picks up the slack and touches the hearts and minds of its audience.

Maryann Wright

Photographer: Jodie Hutchinson.