My Brother’s Drug, written and directed by Rachel Mervis, is a play that combined spoken word, monologue, poetry and physical theatre, creating a diverse environment where the words written can be experienced through different mediums. The play explores topics such as drug addiction, homelessness, criminality and mental health.
The story is told by an engaging performer, Elysia Wilson, who tells the story of a young women (whose name was not mentioned) and her struggling relationship with her younger brother, Frank, who suffers from drug addiction and mental health issues.
The stories of the 3 characters (The young women, her mother and Frank) was told by one performer, Elysia, who delivered the words in an attentive and conversational tone that was able to move and emote the audience.
I found the use of different theatre techniques in one setting very interesting and thought it worked well with the topic the play was exploring. For example, rhyming poetry was used frequently by the main character when describing her feelings throughout the play. The rhyming pattern was able to connect the character’s thought in a clear and delightful way which enhances the emotive effect it has on the audience. (imprvemnt). The poetry was generally well-written with a variety of engaging emotive language and crafty use of puns, which was able to grab and maintain the audience’s attention. However, at time the impact of a sentence was weakened in its pursuit of a rhyme – this could be improved by spending more time on the writing. The story-telling of the play was also enhanced by the use of physical theatre with parts of text spoken alongside strong gestures and music. These parts were done with precision and gave the audience an enhanced sensory experience. These sections, although promising and expres...
