Bryony Kimmings is an English live artist who has creates and performs in many shows. Her fiance, Tim Grayburn…sells advertising space. Or he did, until the pair devised the fantastic show about depression Fake it ’til you Make it.
This is a refreshing show for a number of reasons. The most obvious being the subject, how the couple’s love story became tangled up with Tim’s clinical depression and anxiety, it’s also refreshing and joyful to see a woman who is eight months pregnant bound about the stage; but it is the sight of a woman leading the man on stage that is most refreshing.
Bryony clearly guides and gently reassures Tim on stage, who is not a professional performer, through this personal show that manages to skilfully convey through tragedy and comedy how they deal with Tim’s depression and anxiety attacks. They chart their relationship from the point they met to the day Bryony found Tim’s anti-depressants, his feeling of emasculation over his mental state and beyond through dance, speech and recordings.
As the pair point out, they realise that their story is far from unique and that there are many couples dealing with depression. Tim explains that he chose to do the show in order to help educate men about depression and encourage them to seek help. However the show is very encouraging for those partners who support and love a person dealing with mental health issues.
Fake it ’til you Make it opens up an important dialogue that I hope will expand beyond gender binaries and heterosexual relationships regarding mental health. I look forward to seeing these two create more performances together.
You can see Fake it ’til you Make it at the Soho Theatre until Saturday 17th October. For more information and tickets click here!
