Defending The J.J. MAC

Meet Addy. A butterfly-tamer, in a treehouse, living in a magical world of her own creation. But what happens when Addy begins to lose herself to the fantasy? Beanie-Maryse Ridler's fantastical new work 'Defending The J.J. MAC' is a story about mental health, acceptance, reconciliation and grief...with a little bit of magic thrown in the mix. Last Tapes Theatre Company are proud to be bringing the premiere of this New Zealand play to the Basement to open the 2016 season.

Mental Health awareness has long been of importance to Beanie-Maryse Ridler, and her studies during her Masters in Creative Writing focused on the use of Magical Realism and Imagination as coping mechanisms for the human mind. Does the use of the fantastical make it easier for humans to understand the things we don't really want to face? And therefore does using this technique in theatre, or any other art medium, open audiences up to understand things they might not have been willing to look at before?

'Defending The J.J. MAC' is another foray into this theory in which she hopes to create awareness about Mental Health in New Zealand in a way that is not as dark as the subject matter itself, but that audience members can enjoy and be enchanted by in an intimate theatre setting.

Written by Beanie-Maryse Ridler. Directed by Leon Wadham.

Defending The J.J. MAC
February 2-6 February
The Basement Theatre, Auckland
www.basementtheatre.co.nz