Bringing her one-woman comedy to the stage, Evelyn Rose presents Rosie's Brain - a heartwarming journey through the complexities of mental health and learning to comprehend this. As we follow Rosie amid her OCD and anxiety diagnoses, exploring therapy allows for a crucial shift towards a postive outlook to revolutionise her life.
As the writer, producer, composer and performer, Evelyn has some great insight into the show and has offered us a bit to demonstrate what it means to her.
What inspired you to create Rosie's Brain?
In the summer of 2020, I was dealing with some pretty rough heartbreak: the kind that makes you start experimenting with yoga, dieting, interpretive dance... you name it. So of course I bought a book called "How Musicals Work, and How to Write Your Own" by Julian Woolford. I read three pages, got really excited, wrote one melody, then moved on to the next distraction and forgot about it for four years. I then did what many sad and dramatic people do: apply for drama school. I was lucky enough to get in, and completed my MA in Music Theatre at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama at the end of 2023. Shortly afterwards, our wonderful Course Director, Stephen Hudson, assembled a small group of alumni to collaborate on our creative projects. After a brief brainstorming session, I found myself announcing to the group that one of my goals was to write a musical about my experience with OCD. I was reminded of that initial melody I wrote in 2020 (which is now the hook for the opening number of Rosie's Brain), and was inspired to create the show I have now.
How have you found the development process, and what have you found most rewarding about bringing this to the stage?
The development process has been quite difficult, mostly because I am self-producing as well as writing, composing, and acting. It's a lot to juggle but thankfully I have a wonderful team backing me up. My fellow MAMT graduates, Lucrezia Galeone and Josh Vaatstra, have been supporting this project from day one. Not only are they co-directing the show, but they have also been springboards for creative decisions such as script edits and song lyrics.
What has been most rewarding are the conversations and connections I've had as a result of writing Rosie's Brain. We did a work-in-progress showing back in September, and many audience members came up to me afterwards to tell me they personally connected with Rosie’s challenges. It was rewarding to discover that I’ve created something that shares my experience but also is universal and can speak to a diverse audience.
How do your personal experiences allow for an authentic representation of anxiety and OCD?
Almost every scene in Rosie’s Brain is inspired by something that actually happened. OCD and anxiety have been ever-present in my life, at varying degrees of intensity. I tried to write with honesty, drawing from personal experiences and laying bare the weird things that we think and do as humans.
How have you combined the essence of comedy with themes of mental health struggles?
Charlie Chaplin said it best: “Life is a tragedy in close up and a comedy in long shot." Inspired by this phrase, I tried to take some of the toughest moments of my young adult life, zoom out, and view them through a comical lens. Diagnosis or not, our brains are ridiculous. They play silly little tricks on us, all in the name of trying to convince ourselves that we’re using this precious time on earth correctly. This is funny! It's funny that we are here. It’s even funnier that we're not here for long. And it's hilarious that our brains make it so goddamn difficult.
How does the show reflect the impact of engaging with therapy thoughtfully over just 70 minutes?
I'm not sure if the show does reflect the impact of engaging with therapy thoughtfully. I hope it does, but as everyone has drasticly different experiences with therapy, it's hard to say for sure. I tried to pack in some of the most memorable moments, both positive and negative, from my experience with therapy over the years. In a 50-minute therapy session, it's often just one sentence that can turn your entire day, year, or life around. A great therapist has the power to transform your perspective on the world and your place within it, whether that’s for better or worse. In the interest of keeping the show snappy, I endeavoured to focus on those pivotal moments.
What have you learnt about yourself through this endeavour?
I've learned which creative tasks I enjoy doing alone and which ones I only feel confident about if I have outside support. Songwriting is my strong suit, and I feel comfortable putting a song in front of an audience without running it by other creatives first. But for other aspects of the production, such as script, set, costume, style, etc., I am so thankful to have my trusty team by my side. They have been incredible, and I'm very excited to introduce a new team member, Laoise Fleming, who is joining us as Music Director for the premiere.
What is the most important message for audiences to take away from the show?
One of my big goals with Rosie's Brain was for it to not be a big pity party. I don't want the audience to walk away thinking “Wow, how sad that she has OCD and anxiety." I want them to walk away thinking "Aren't we all a little bit fucked up? Isn't that funny?." Anxiety is something that everyone, whether diagnosed or not, deals with at some point and to some degree. I wanted to, in a way, celebrate that.
Some really wonderful answers here - thank you so much to Evelyn for these! Wishing you all the best for the run of what sounds like an excellent piece.
Rosie's Brain is playing at The Hope Theatre, London, from 4th-8th February.
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