An online theatre piece about being indoors too much, and getting better at not getting better.
Indoors Too Much presents…
“Between not getting better and getting better at not getting better, stories are needed. Stories wider than their margins and less lemon than real-life are needed.”
Especially when real life is being indoors too much with fibromyalgia, an illness with too many syllables to be anything other than awful and possibly contagious. Stories are really needed, because as a narrative device fibromyalgia is pants. Yes, there’s lots of dramatic pain and ennui-inducing fatigue, but there’s no real back story, no concrete arc and no triumphant conclusion.
Anyway, disabled artist Conor A wanted to tell a different story. Learning To Swim On An Ironing Board is the story of getting better at not getting better, therapeutic eavesdropping (not a widely used therapeutic tool, but what you can expect when your therapist’s business card says Terry the Therapist), and how eavesdropping helped him change how he relates to the world.
Now “live and online”, Learning to Swim on an Ironing Board has come full circle.
After starting with living room performances in Conor’s home and then a theatre tour in 2019 the show is now back in Conor’s living room and being livestreamed, via Zoom, straight to your home.
This event will be BSL interpreted.
Post-show Panel
The performance will be followed by a post-show panel exploring living with fibromyalgia and chronic pain.
Our panellists are:
- Ash Cox from the New Adelphi Theatre
- Katie Mayes from Coin-Operated Press
Katie Mayes has been involved in all areas of the creative industries for many years. With Chloe Henderson, she runs Coin-Operated Press – an artist-led organisation based in Scotland that hosts workshops, runs zine fairs, creates educational online content, and produces collaborative zines.
- Sukhjeen Kaur from Chronically Brown
Content Warnings
Occasional swearing, sexual references, references to mental and physical illness
About Conor A
Conor A is a theatre maker, disabled artist and workshop facilitator based in Manchester, UK..
He is currently has an online tour of his first solo show, Learning to Swim on an Ironing Board.
He has performed at, ran and hosted spoken word and cabaret events across the UK. He is also a creativity workshop facilitator.
