Forward Thought Theatre are excited to announce that their new play MEASURED will be taking over The Hope Theatre from February 22nd.
Emma O’Brien’s witty and moving new play is a heartfelt and hilarious look into life with an eating disorder. The play examines both the hidden consequences for the sufferer and those who love them. Exposing the emotional turmoil of the illness without glamorising its dangers, MEASURED questions how effective recovery can be in a society that still wants women to be as ‘little’ as possible.
Sophie’s sister, Lucy, is at that age where her friends are throwing yoghurt around at school. Sophie’s boyfriend, Tom, runs a catering company for picky wedding planners. And Sophie? Sophie has an eating disorder – which she sees as a rather large inconvenience. Now she’s in recovery, Sophie is hopeful she can reconnect with Lucy and Tom, but she knows that after hiding within her illness for so long, it’s not going to be easy to cope without it.
At the head of the incredible team behind this new play is writer Emma O’Brien who has a special connection with this subject as she wrote MEASURED whilst in recovery from anorexia. Emma was also guided by over ten years of mental health social work experience. Helping to guide Emma’s story will be award-winning director Cat Robey who has been Deputy Director of Jermyn Street Theatre for the past two years.
Taking on the lead role of Sophie is an award-winning comedian and mental health ambassador, Juliette Burton, who also has lived experience of eating disorders. Burton has had countless sold-out shows at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and was recently one of The Guardian’s top picks for lockdown comedy in 2020.
During its run, the play will be headlining the Measured Festival, produced by Forward Thought Theatre. The Measured Festival will consist of comedy, performance and spoken word from award-winning acts, TV names and Edinburgh Fringe Festival stars, all with the aim of making talking about mental illness accessible.
The Festival will feature activists, authors and comedians including Sooz Kempner (Musical Comedy Awards Best Newcomer), Sikisa (Winner of BBC New Comedy Award 2017), Dave Chawner (seen on BBC, ITV & Channel 5), Juliette Burton, and spoken word and performance art group What’s Going On In Your Head?. The festival will be taking place across the play’s entire run including 2022’s Eating Disorder Awareness week from 28th February, a cause close to the creators hearts.
MEASURED has already begun to gain praise with award-winning author Samuel Pollen, author of ‘The Year I Didn’t Eat’ saying: “So many plays and books and TV shows get eating disorders wrong. Trivialising them, or focusing only on the gory bits, or airbrushing them to fit an uplifting narrative. Measured shows EDs as they are. Horrifying and boring. Sometimes rational, sometimes nonsensical… and somehow it’s still funny!”
MEASURED and The Measured Festival will be coming to The Hope Theatre from 22nd February.
Book your MEASURED tickets here: www.thehopetheatre.com/productions/measured
Book your Measured Festival late show tickets here: www.thehopetheatre.com