Yale Cabaret Photo
All This Noise, a one-man, one-act play at the Yale Cabaret this weekend, tells an empathic story about a young man’s mental illness and a family’s struggle to cope. The audience is immediately and effectively drawn in to the ordeal.
The older brother Jack, played with subtle intensity by Jackson Moran, struggles as the primary caregiver for his younger brother Christopher, who suffers from manic-depressive disorder. The creative use of family photographs handed out to the audience, slides and cryptic writing on the theater wall communicate a dark, fractured and disoriented sense of the experience of mental illness.
The deeply personal tragedy of Christopher’s illness is compounded by obsolete methods of treatment and lack of options for care in the state of New Jersey.
The “noise” in the play’s title refers not only to the static in Christopher’s brain but also to the confusion of public discussion and policy on the issue. In a short hour the play takes on an enormous topic and presents varied and sensitive insight into the mental health system and the callous public ignorance that often accompanies it. The play raises the vital and current question of how to provide better treatment for the mentally ill and more support for their families. It boldly takes to task lawmakers and mental health professionals for obsolete treatment methods and avoidance of the plight of millions of Americans suffering from mental health issues
All This Noise was created by Jackson Moran with the help of Ethan Heard, Kate Ivins and Martha Jane Kaufman. Souri Yazdanjou created the spare and eloquent set design. The play will run at the Yale Cabaret at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. through Saturday.
