Review: Headcase, Thistle Theatre at Greenside

Alfie Packham’s set design is what instantly stands out in Headcase. Three tall screens, the middle of which contains the shadow of a head, along with the type of chair that will always be found in an ancient church, form a highly striking image. 

It is this head that Ian, played by writer Douglas Yannaghas, worships. It is the head that speaks to him. It is the head that tells him what to do. And it is the head that convinces him that he should create a new church and begin the Third Testament. It is the voices in his mind that he has heard from a young age. 

This solo show is a tale of obsessions, of religion and belief, and is very much about mental health and its origins. Yannaghas’ script ping-pongs frantically between timelines: one moment he is four years old, the next thirty, and then back to twelve. Yet the constant throughout is the head, with its controlling voice. It is Ian’s God. 

The delivery is fractured and frantic; it never lets up. It’s compelling, and you try to piece together the different parts of Ian’s life to work out why he acts the way he does. His life is torn between the two competing schools of religion: the Old Testament with its fire and brimstone, represented by Father Michaels; and the New Testament, embodied in Cassandra’s belief in forgiveness and love. These seem to exist in his life outside the church as well: his aunt, his guardian from a young age, follows the Old Testament, striving to expel the sinner from within him to a level that hints at childhood abuse. Cassandra offers the kindness he needs, and yet she too is corrupted by his fervour, his belief that God speaks through him. These contradictions run strongly throughout the play. And for Ian, the Head and its voice demand something more, a Third Testament, a whole new way.  

Yannaghas delivers a compelling performance as he slips between child and man, anger and calmness. All the time as he moves across the stage and between those screens, there is that shadow of the head looming behind him, much as the shadow of mental health hangs over him too. You are drawn to watch his tranquil madness.

Headcase is certainly a thought-provoking watch. It’s difficult to pin down for sure what it is meant to mean, but the ideas of church, morality and mental health loom large and leave the audience with plenty to consider.

Written by Douglas Yannaghas
Directed by Anna Whealing
Produced by Brian James Mekigen
Set Design by Alfie Packham
Technical Design by Tom Showell

Headcase plays at Thistle Theatre at Greenside @ Riddles Court until Saturday 29 August as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe