ComedyFringe TheatreReviews

Review: Your Therapist is Clueless, Etcetera Theatre

summary

Rating

Ok

This one-man show of stories from working in mental health has lots of potential, but currently fails to grab its audience.

Previously seen at the Edinburgh Fringe, Your Therapist is Clueless promises ‘a night of humour and heart’ at Etcetera Theatre. Headed by one-man creative team and performer Nathaniel Tresise, the title might give some idea of the kinds of content – stories from mental health care, around the fallible people who work in it.

Given the info online, which was brief and somewhat vague, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Testimonals? Stand-up? A play? On a bare stage with only a stool, Tresise stands alone and speaks to the audience, but it is still a bit unclear what the show’s identity is. Perhaps it is designed to live in a space between genres, but this performance feels somewhat confused.

Short at forty minutes, Your Therapist is Clueless doesn’t seem to live up to its potential. Tresise is likeable and charming, but he doesn’t win over the audience enough in those crucial first moments. It must be incredibly hard to reinvigorate a crowd, and in a small venue that still felt a little sparse, the odds are stacked against Tresise tonight.

I don’t think it’s a surprise that there will be funny, interesting, or heart-warming stories from working closely with people in mental health care. Assuming that Tresise did work in this area (there is no programme or bio available to check), it’s commendable to want to share about a time that must have been impactful for lots of people. However, having been in a trusted position, it falls to Tresise to take care in choosing exactly what to speak about and how.

Maybe during a show called Your Therapist is Clueless, we are meant to think that the people working in this particular mental health support centre are indeed clueless. But Tresise himself does seem to care about the support he talks about offering, and there is no sense that clueless was the vibe he is going for. Unfortunately, though, a few off-hand comments around things service users said or did feel, frankly, insensitive. I am confident, though, this is from careless writing rather than a lack of compassion or care from those involved.

Tresise is right to want to create this show, but mental health is an area that is very hard to get right – particularly in comedy, which I think might have been the aim. Approaching from the perspective of the professional is even harder, with an even greater responsibility to take care how the topic of working with vulnerable people is handled. I don’t think Tresise is able to do himself justice in Your Therapist is Clueless, even though he is the right amount of witty and compassionate needed. Like many, I am passionate about mental health and how it is portrayed in performance, and I look forward to seeing how Tresise utilises his potential in the future.


Created and performed by: Nathaniel Tresise

Your Therapist is Clueless has finished its current run.

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