RIDICULUSMUS RESIDENCY | FALL 2017

DaVid Woods and Jon Haynes | Give Me Your Love

November 29, 2017 | 7 PM | TRICKLOCK PERFORMANCE LABORATORY | 110 GOLD STREET SW

The second in a trilogy of plays, Give Me Your Love looks at the healing potential of altered states of consciousness and the use of psychedelic drugs, in particular 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) for patients traumatized by combat stress. 

 Informed by real-life testimonies and groundbreaking medical research, it tells the story of ex-soldier Zach who has withdrawn into a cardboard box in a kitchen in West Wales. His friend Ieuan arrives offering recovery—in the form of an ecstasy capsule which he claims to have used to successfully treat his own post-traumatic stress. 

Parachuted into their recently fractured pasts, Zach and Ieuan swing between dreamboat heroism and woozy enlightenment whilst engaging in disorderly conversation about patriotism, conflict and supermarket shopping. In Albuquerque for one night only! 

Give Me Your Love is the second instalment of Ridiculusmus’s three-pronged investigation into innovative approaches to mental health. Informed by the latest scientific research, it explores the healing potential in altered states of consciousness.

The show premiered at Arts House, Melbourne in November 2015 and has toured extensively since. It has been supported by a Wellcome Trust Arts Award, was shortlisted for the Mental Health Arts Award  and won the coveted Lustrum Award at Edinburgh in 2017. Sir Robert MacSummerhall, former governor of the World Bank and Summerhall’s founder declared the company to be “in a league of their own” at a glittering post-show ceremony on the last day of the Fringe.

Here is a clip from the post show discussion, Stress, Distress and Disorder at Battersea Arts Centre.

Click this link for a Radio National Australia interview with David and Australian army veteran Steve MacDonald about the treatment of Post Traumatic Stress with MDMA.

To read some things that may have contributed to the making of Give Me Your Love click here.

Four star review in The Stage: “Ridiculusmus at their best”

Observer review: “Haynes and Woods play nimbly with delusion”

The vibe in Bristol:  “A wonderfully well researched, well produced and well performed play. This is a must see for anyone who wants to understand the world of mental health better or wants to see something beautifully creative about a tentative topic. This show brilliantly balances comedy with the seriousness of the issue.”    and from the brilliant Stepping Out Theatre: “hilarious, poignant,  haunting, strange and unforgettable”

Ridiculusmus is a multi-award winning theatre company that has been producing seriously funny theatre for over 25 years.