Interview: When Life Gives You Melons…

Becks Turner on her show-cum-gameshow Melonade.

Melonade, which comes to VAULT Festival 14 – 17 March, promises us a gameshow about the current education system in the UK, especially when it comes to people who don’t fit into that one size fits all template. To many people, it is an education system that is clearly not fit for purpose and fails many of our children. And as Everything Theatre is very much in that category who despair at the state of it all, Melonade certainly caught our attention.

So we found some time to go back to school with the show’s creator Becks Turner to find out if we can actually win any prizes, and just how bad this Tory Government is when it comes to education (yes we go there, the dreaded politics, be warned).

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The most pressing question first. Why is it called Melonade?

When life gives you lemons, make melonade. It’s a little joke about being dyslexic that sparked the whole idea for the show!

I am dyslexic, and at times I find it difficult to deal with certain tasks. I struggle to read out loud, always get my p’s & b’s mixed up – along with other letters & words, I have no concept of time and I can’t focus on more than one thing. On top of that, I also have dyspraxia, dyscalculia and recently found out I might have ADHD. So, life has given me a mix of ‘difficulties’ – but I can’t let that get in the way. Instead, I’ve come to understand the skills & benefits of being neurodiverse. I’ve got great creativity skills -I always find ways to think outside of the box. I’m able to picture anything in my head as a 3D image that I can move around and look at from any angle – imagine having Cher from Clueless’ digital wardrobe in your head, that’s how I pick out my outfits for each day. And that may be why many architectures are dyslexic, they can picture the building and each part of it clearly in their mind. I’m able to think outside of the box, making me great at problem solving – you definitely want me on your team in an escape room.

All these skills I get because my brain processes information differently from other people, so being neurodiverse does have its perks. So even if life throws a bunch of lemons at me, I know I can make some tasty Melonade. It might not be exactly what they ordered, but it’ll be better…

Melonade is about celebrating neurodiversity and finding space for this way of thinking, to be appreciated in society, especially education.

You are taking aim at the education system in this country, what is it that you particularly feel isn’t working then?

I feel that there are two things that need to change within the education system. Firstly, 15% of the UK population are dyslexic – though this percentage is likely to be higher, as many people don’t get the proper support and diagnosis they need. The same can be said for many other neurodiversities. Diagnosis should take place early on in someone’s life, so they can have the proper support they need throughout their education and later into the workplace. But due to lack of funding, many schools can’t afford to give a free assessment to students who need it. This means those students are likely to grow up in the education system, being told they are stupid, lazy or naughty.

Secondly, neurodiverse people process information differently which helps to find solutions and new ideas. A perfect skill for working creatively! If you struggle with reading, writing and processing information you’re likely to gravitate towards subjects where you can share your thoughts in other ways. For me, the artistic subjects were key to my learning, helping me regain my confidence. Artistic subjects can be hugely important in developing confidence for neurodiverse people, often giving them the ability to shine, and even be top of the class! But these subjects are the first ones to be cut. With a government that only cares about STEM, and a Prime Minister who thinks maths should be mandatory up to age 18, it’s clear that this system values neurotypical learning and neurotypical students more than neurodiverse ones.

And how do you go about turning any anger about the system into a show? And then a gameshow?

Turning anger into theatre is something I’ve done my whole life! Firstly at school, where I was angry that people thought I was unable, lazy, and naughty. Drama was the subject where I was able to prove them wrong. The show was originally made for my final project at Central, and then with the help of Camden People’s Theatre, who have always gone out of their way to help emerging artists, I was able to share a work in progress! Then Oxford University got in touch as part of their Neurodiversity outreach programme and really helped us to showcase our show, and it’s just grown from there!

In Melonade, I’m the game show host who wants to play a fair and honest game, treating everyone with respect and valuing their individual brains. But as the show develops, the games get trickier, with the time to compete getting shorter. It’s a parallel to the amazing teachers out there who want to connect with students one-on-one, and teach them in a way that works for them. But due to oversized classes, funding cuts, low salaries for teachers, and an exam-based model of assessment, these teachers end up being cogs in a system that is designed to set neurodiverse people up to fail.

We are seeing much more talk about neurodiversity within theatre now, and many shows at this year’s VAULT Festival seem to be highlighting it in their press material, so do you feel that (Tory Government aside) we’re getting better/ more understanding towards such things?

It’s great to see so many shows at Vault this year which are about neurodiversity! We’re definitely moving to a place where people understand what neurodiversity means and what falls under this bracket. But as a society we have a long way to go in putting things in place to support neurodiverse people. And I’m a big believer that this support needs to start in education.

It’s like the social model of disability, which says that it isn’t people who are unable to do “normal” things, it is the environment and society they find themselves in which is inaccessible to them.  But until the systemic issues are resolved, people are still disadvantaged. Understanding is great, but until we see systematic change, neurodiverse students are still being cheated out of an education, and at a disadvantage right from the beginning of their lives.

Should we ask your thoughts on the PM’s (Sunak at the time of writing but who knows by the time the show is on!) latest idea to force all school children to study maths up to 18 years of age? (no swearing please… oh ok, a little swear word if you need to)

OUTRAGED but sadly, not surprised… this isn’t the first time the Tories have favoured academic subjects as the solution to all of the UK’s problems… thinking back to when I was taking my GSCEs and was told I could only take a maximum of 3 ‘soft subjects’. And the Education Minister at the time, Michael Gove, was spouting on about “Education, Education, Education” while ensuring course work was a thing of the past, so the only way students could be tested was on exams. Unfortunately, it’s just more of the same from a party who have made their feelings on diversity and at uplifting the arts abundantly clear.

As you’re promising a gameshow, can we ask, are there prizes to be won? And if no prizes, will there at least be the promised melons and lemons?

Your in luck! We promise prizes plus lemons and of course lots of Melons!!

Finally, what do you want people to take away from watching Melonade then? Do you feel shows such as this have the power to start the process of change that is so badly needed?

The arts have always been a powerful tool to spark change. Melonade is a celebration of all the strengths that come with being neurodiverse, which are usually overlooked. It’s a look at how different the education system COULD be. What if people were tested in ways that made sense to them? Without time limits, without focusing on how much you can remember, and without valuing some subjects higher than others?

We want people to come away having had a good night out; won some prizes, made some melonade and had a good laugh at the expense of the Tories. We’re also hoping that we can shed some light on what needs changing to make education inclusive for all brains. Though the change can only start once awareness has been raised. And one great way to do this, is through theatre – the very thing the Tories see as a waste of time ‘soft subject’.

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Thanks to Becks for finding some time to chat to us. You can see Melonades when it comes to VAULT Festival between 14 – 17 March. Further information and bookings can be found here.