Hysterical! The Hilarious History of Hystery at Theatre Royal Stratford East Online

One should probably be apprehensive when a show calls itself “hilarious” in its title and describes itself as a comedy-lecture in the blurb. Somebody is clearly protesting too much. That is not to say that Hysterical! A Hilarious History of Hysteria is entirely devoid of humour, but it is a far stretch to say that it is the focus of this piece – it is funny in the way that a university lecture can be amusing by merit of the lecturer being aware of some of the absurdities of history: amusing on occasion but, due to the serious implications of the material, it still remains a sobering experience. Adding cartoon sound effects and having an imaginary conversation with a puppet Sigmund Freud will not change that fact. No, truly hilarious this is not, but it is still a highly informative and engaging historical lecture.

Hysterical – written and performed by Rebecca Buckle – is essentially a 45-minute lecture on the history of hysteria, tracing the misdiagnosis of women’s medical problems from Ancient Greece to the present. Covering a lot of breadth, Buckle presents a range of fascinating facts from the grotesquely comical (such as the belief in the wandering womb) to the outright horrifying. In between, Buckle portrays brief black-and-white interludes, in which she satirises consultations between herself and various GPs, who disbelieve her perceptions and descriptions of her own symptoms.

Utilising all the advantages of a lockdown-induced home production, director Mina Barber and videographer Ben Pugh create a wonderfully poignant and flowing production that never ceases to capture the audience’s attention – particularly necessary given the severity of the subject matter. Hysterical! is also made accessible for diverse audiences through the creation of audio-described and BSL-interpreted variations of the show.

While nowhere near as hilarious as the title would suggest, Hysterical! A Hilarious History of Hysteria is nevertheless an entertaining and, above all, informative lecture. It covers a lot of ground and highlights many of the problems caused by a belief in hysteria in history, and its contemporary consequences. An important awareness-raising piece that can draw attention to a lot of the issues plaguing women today.

Michael Higgs

Hysterical! The Hilarious History of Hystery is at Theatre Royal Stratford East from 29^th March 2021 For further information or to book visit the theatre’s website here.