It's 3.40am on Saturday morning, precisely eight days since I attended Juliette Burton's show, No Brainer at the Museum of Comedy in London. My head is a mess of ideas that need to be focused in some way, hence this blog. The show has been resonating in my head since I saw it and my overactive psyche has been motivating me to produce something about it. As such, here goes...
No Brainer is a palimpsest of a show (I mean that as a compliment). Juliette Burton has described it as a work in progress. As a creative work, it is engaging, emotionally raw, funny and chaotic but it is also coherent and will by definition, change with every performance (long may it remain a work in progress). If that brief summation sounds confused, go and see the show and see what I mean.
Juliette Burton has experienced mental health issues throughout her life. I suspect that exploring statistics would reveal that many of her audience may have experienced mental health issues too. Personally, I have and do. But significantly, Ms Burton uses her mental health issues to explore herself and in doing so, holds up a metaphorical mirror and sign, reading 'You are not alone'.
No Brainer is the result of Ms Burton's extensive exploration of the brain from a variety of angles. I felt honoured to hold a plastic brain in my hands and to realise that this organ is very likely responsible for everything I get up to in a day. Not only does it generate and articulate thought but it also helped me to find the Museum of Comedy (okay, I walked in the wrong direction initially but that's allowed). Scientific understanding and learning to love or at least, to attempt to come to terms with the aspects of your personality that cannot be quickly changed were some of the ideas that I took from this show.
Ms Burton offered various concepts such as the fight or flight model. As a result of my job and my studies over the years, I have encountered the idea before, particularly in relation to moments of anxiety. Interestingly for me, Ms Burton added freeze and fawn to the model. I have noticed that I personally have frozen at various points of crisis. I have wondered whether this has constituted indecision as a result of OCD on some occasions (in order to overcome recurrent negative cyclical thoughts or the possibility of them kicking in) or else the age old notion that bad things won't happen if I become invisible.
I froze during a certain key moment in the show that I cannot describe as I felt (and still feel) that it was one of the catalysts for this show and indeed for Ms Burton's continuing exploration of scientific and other theories for coping with mental illness and with life. In many respects, the fact that I did nothing and nor did the other audience members worried me, although to rationalise the moment, it occurs within the structure of the show. For me, it shows Ms Burton's consummate skills as a performer that she can channel the emotions connected with a key moment of crisis, represent the event yet come out of it with a smile and positive affirmation to let the audience know that she is okay. I wanted to hug Ms Burton at that moment and I suspect that lots of the other audience members did too.
I think that Ms Burton's assertion of the idea that good and bad memories continue to exist even if they remain repressed or sidelined remains valid and vital for our everyday lives (certainly a fundamental tenet of quite a bit of psychoanalytic theory). These memories can be triggered by a variety of stimuli such as an odour, taste or sound etc. Memories can both help and hinder us but it's important to acknowledge their continuing existence especially if they represent something urgent that requires closure.
One thing is certain, No Brainer has resonated with me for eight days. I did a short course the other day on emotional intelligence and thought to myself that Ms Burton is definitely a good example of a human being with high levels of emotional intelligence (I mean that as a compliment). To continue to explore yourself, open yourself to others, whilst also retaining the wisdom to separate those essential ingredients that are yours alone demonstrates to me a performer that is not only growing, but also helping her audience to explore themselves in a safe and creative way.
In the distance, I can hear the Eurythmics song, When Tomorrow Comes. It's a memory but also like No Brainer a point of departure. Ms Burton, you have done it again, you have created a work that will continue to change over time but also allows the audience to take what they can or like and run with it. But I am definitely not moving into Elm Street, despite the property prices. Thanks for your emotional honesty and your inspirational show.
Barry Watt - Saturday 20th August 2022.
Afterword
Juliette Burton has an excellent website, which is regularly updated with future shows etc:
Juliette Burton | Comedian, Writer, Speaker, Actor
Eurythmics were a very successful band and their songs still mean a great deal. When Tomorrow Comes has always inspired feelings of positivity whenever I hear it yet not in a contrived manner, the lyrics move me. For more on the band and their music, please check their website. The song is copyright to them:
Home - Eurythmics | Official Site
Elm Street is of course, the home to a serial murderer as depicted in the A Nightmare on Elm Street series, which I surprisingly haven't seen:
A Nightmare on Elm Street - Wikipedia
Museum of Comedy puts on an eclectic collection of performers and shows. Their website is below:
Promotional Image (Used with the kind permission of Ms Burton. The image is copyright to the photographer, Steve Ullathorne and Ms Burton)
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| Juliette Burton - No Brainer Promotional Image Photographer - Steve Ullathorne BW |
