We are loonies! And we are proud!
When Ready Eddie McKenna, Soul Survivor and double-glazing salesman, arrives to re-launch a defunct hospital radio station in a psychiatric unit, he turns more than the ramshackle station upside-down. The whisky drinking would-be DJ meets the irrepressible Campbell whose dreams seem untouched by reality, the hyper-organised Rosalie who is fighting a one-woman war against germs, the electronic genius Fergus whose voices tell him he’s a stupid bastard, and the brittle and self-destructive Francine. Read more …
As the patients battle with perception and prejudice as much as illness, Eddie, armed only with his soul music record collection, transforms their lives as well as his own.
Features a fantastic R&B soundtrack including Soul Man, Rainy Night in Georgia and Can't Get Next To You.
Takin’ Over the Asylum is a grand entertainment that downplays the more serious side of mental illness.
The end result is an engaging, moving, and entertaining show, laced with black humour, warmth, and no shortage of pathos.
Rather than painting an “Us and Them” picture, Franceschild blurs the line between mentally ill, (the ingenious Fergus) and “sane” (the psychotic children) to show that despite the labels given to us, ultimately we are all people.
Franceschild has indeed been successful in transferring the show from screen to stage. All the elements were there – great writing, good music, a collection of fabulous characters facing unenviable challenges and a well structured story.
Director Mark Thomson receives fine performances right across a diverse cast.
The show is funny and sad, but the story fights shy of the extremes of comedy and tragedy. Mark Thomson's Citz/Lyceum co-production, however, is blessed with a strong ensemble cast.
BAFTA-winning TV drama translates brilliantly for the stage.
A quietly superb Iain Robertson as Eddie, and this magnificent ten-strong ensemble, create a fine, irresistible piece of popular theatre, with a great, beating heart, wonderful tunes, and terrific jokes; and Mark Thomson’s beautifully-paced production lifts the spirits, even while it gazes unflinchingly at some of the toughest stuff human beings have to face.
There is a good deal of lunacy, some involving, some affecting, some very amusing. It is worth seeing, and very well worth thinking about.
Subtly updated to encompass mobile phones and computers, and with superb in –your- blood music from the likes of Aretha Franklin, The Supremes, The Four Tops and Fontella Bass, this is a wild and impassioned portrayal of what we all are really, the walking wounded.
It’s a powerful, thoroughly entertaining evening, and Thomson draws exceptionally fine performances from his extremely strong cast. Without the slightest hint of voyeurism, it’s as though we can only truly find order and meaning by staring into the chaos.
Takin’ Over The Asylum is a perfect balance of poignancy and brilliantly-observed humour, allowing its message to be heard loud and clear: that, no matter what walls may separate us, holding on to hope is the most important thing in the world.
Mental health TV drama Takin' Over the Asylum set for stage adaptation
Preview: Takin' Over the Asylum, Iain Robertson interview
The comedy about mental health 'Takin' Over the Asylum' takes to the stage
Iain Robertson is Taking Over the Asylum at Royal Lyceum
Citizens' Theatre, Glasgow from Thursday February 14, 2013, until Saturday March 9, 2013. More info: www.citz.co.uk
Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh from Wednesday March 13, 2013, until Saturday April 6, 2013. More info: www.lyceum.org.uk