From myth to metaphor.
The play Allergic to Water, an interactive dark comedy created and performed by Jacqueline Russell with music by Jeremy Gignoux, follows a mermaid trapped in a human body. Still, it makes a splash with its exploration of a mysterious chronic illness and the struggle to be believed.
This interactive production, running from Nov. 5 to 8 at the Victor Mitchell Theatre in Calgary’s Pumphouse Theatre, invites the audience to become part of the story, blending humour, intergenerational bathtubs, and an allegory for intergenerational trauma and invisible illnesses.
“The type of theatre that I love has no fourth wall… there’s an awareness that the audience can see me and I can see them,” said Russell in an interview with the Calgary Journal.
Play tells the story of a mermaid
Allergic to Water tells the story of Melusine, the eldest mermaid daughter in a lineage of eldest daughters, who lost her tail — and with it a part of herself— and sets out looking for answers to get it back.
Inspired by her own and her loved ones’ experiences with hidden illnesses and disabilities, Russell channelled those experiences, which ultimately led her to mermaids.
“I started exploring mythologies around bodies, which led me to mermaids… there’s just so much in the mermaid mythology that felt really rich and poignant and like the perfect metaphor for what it feels like to have a chronic illness or an invisible illness,” said Russell.
Russell says while researching for this play, she came across different studies on how women’s pain is perceived differently from men’s, often being dismissed and labelled as “hysteria.”
“I wanted to challenge the notion that pain is inherently baked into the female experience,” Russell said.
In the play, Melusine interacts with doctors who dismiss her and go to great lengths to convince them that something is truly wrong, which echoes real-life scenarios that happen every day.
Play explores invisible illness
Russell, in a press release, says the show “playfully investigates the gendered dimensions of invisible illness, highlighting the challenges women face in being heard and validated within the medical system.”
Russell adds that her intention in using humour and physical comedy was to explore pain and disbelief.
I feel like people don’t want to come and see real tragic things because they have enough of it in their own life,” she said.“What I love about it is we can come together in a room and laugh at the absurdity of the human condition.”
Along with the show’s themes, Allergic to Water is committed to providing an inclusive experience for the audience. The production offers a semi-relaxed and mask-friendly environment, flexible scheduling options, post-show discussion and a panel on Nov. 6, and audio description on Nov. 8.
For more information and tickets, click here.