Welcome to Self Co goes to Edinburgh Fringe

DEPRESSION IS A FULL-TIME JOB - YEAH, NO KIDDING!

Do you hate your boss? Do you hate the company you work for? Ever feel that you're not valued? That you haven't lived up to expectations? A job at Self Co will suit you perfectly!

Ahead of its showing at the prestigious Edinburgh New Zealand Fringe Festival in August, Theatrewhack's Welcome to Self Co is fundraising for a projector, publicity costs (graphic designer, poster and flyer printing) and living/travel costs while in the UK.

Welcome to Self Co is an absurdist comedy which highlights a society where work and mental illness often go hand in hand, and the problems that ensue.

Director Patrick Graham (Pardon Me Alan Turing, Hippolytus Veiled) and writer and actor Hope Kennedy-Smith draw from their own experiences with mental illness for this dark comedy, which offers a riotous snapshot into a dysfunctional office environment.

At a time when precarious and unpaid work, zero-hour contracts and increased rates of depression are on the rise, and stress-fuelled toxic workplaces are commonplace, Welcome to Self Co challenges audiences to not only come to a deeper understanding of what depression feels like for those experiencing it, but also one of its causes - the way we work today.

Co-starring Michaela Spratt (The Rover, Taming of the Shrew) as the awful boss we've all had, and introducing Tatiana Daniels as the manic-depressive employee, Welcome to Self Co's entire cast and crew have lived and survived through mental illness - and are perfectly placed to show you exactly why that's hilarious.

Reviews for Welcome to Self Co:
'Tenacious ... an existentialist nightmare', Genevieve McClean, Theatreview
'Serious belly laughs', Craccum
'Important � incisive commentary. Superbly acted', Nicola Corner, Mental Health Foundation
'Thoroughly entertaining', Flora Gosling, Theatrey Stuff