The Wonderful World of Dissocia (2020)
Written by Anthony Neilson.
Directed and adapted by Johan Bark.
London, United Kingdom.
The Wonderful World of Dissocia.
Written by Anthony Neilson.
Directed by Johan Bark.
Set and Costume design by Chelsie Langridge.
Lighting design by Nathan Mallalieu.
Lisa Montgomery Jones has recently felt that her life is “out of balance”, which has affected her life and her relationships. When a mysterious man enters her home, and reveals that this can all be traced back to Lisa “losing an hour of her life”, she travels to the surreal and absurdist country called ‘Dissocia’ to find it. On her travels, she encounters “in-security guards”, a magical elevator, a singing polar bear, a “scapegoat”, “time-flies”, distorted and enlarged objects, and a Lost and Found Office that more resembles a hot dog stand.
Towards the end of the play, the audience realise that Lisa has suffered from identity dissociative disorder all the time, and the country ‘Dissocia’ exists entirely within her mind. In the closing moments of the play, we see Lisa as her surroundings perceive her: Institutionalised in a hospital, cared for by nurses and doctors, and the strain that her condition puts on her relationship. A funny, surreal, but at its end a heartbreaking tale about our society’s failures to understand and treat mental conditions, and a critique of how the institutional hospital systems can dehumanise both the carer and the treated.
Cast:
Emily Pacey.
David Llewellyn.
Maria Fijalkowski.
Jessica Clark.
Norbert Metstak.
Deputy Stage Manager: Anya Allen.
Assistant Stage Manager: Emily Dale.
Stage Hands: Megan Hartley, George Warner, Roshni Parmar.
Lighting Programmer: Matthew Ascough.
Prod LX: Peter Bentley.
Scenic Construction: Alfie Thomas, Glen Dewberry, Harry Harrison and Sam Prior.
Technical Manager: Glen Leyser.
Season Stage Manager: Demi Bayram.
Production Manager: Kitty McKelvey.
Observers: Isabelle Gatford-Ball and Rosie Clark.
Head of Production: Anthony Sammut
Season Supervisor: Matthieu Bellon.
Production Supervisor: Mark Shayle.
College Technical Manager: Jonathan Hill.
Workshop Supervisor: Dave Kerry.
Sound Design and Choreography: Johan Bark.
”The Dissocian National Anthem” was written by Viktor Olsson.
Photography by Ali Wright.
Performed in London at the drama school Rose Bruford College, in September 2020. The performance involved European Theatre Arts students, Lighting and Theatre design students, Stage Management, Scenic Arts, and Creative Lighting Control.