A play telling the story of 1 man’s battle with weight problems, MANikin, will return to the stage in August – with an opportunity for MAN v FAT members to get pleasure from discounted tickets!
Set within the small city of Ellon and delivered with basic Scottish humour, Fraser Patterson wrestles along with his thoughts and physique in his wrestle with enjoying the bit-part-role of The Massive Man.
Brutal playground initiation evolves into real-world tribulation in a society riddled with stigma and prejudice.
MANikin is an unflinching portrait of a person’s wrestle with weight problems and physique picture within the modern-day, elevating consciousness concerning the points and affect surrounding male weight problems, physique picture and psychological well being, providing audiences a novel and compelling perspective on a subject that impacts tens of millions worldwide however is commonly ignored.
Particulars of the play’s performances
Fri seventh Aug – Sat fifteenth August (Excl. Tues eleventh )6pm (Doorways 5:30pm / Period: 60 Minutes)Hibernian Supporters Membership – 11 Sunnyside, EH7 5RATicket Hyperlink: https://manikin.eventbrite.co.ukPromo code: MANVSFAT
We caught up with Co-Inventive Director of Saltire Sky and Author of MANikin, Nathan Scott-Dunn to search out out extra.
1) Inform us a bit extra concerning the play and the way it got here to be?
MANikin began from conversations inside the firm about weight problems, masculinity and the experiences that many people, or individuals near us, had lived by means of. We wished to create one thing trustworthy that explored these points by means of a Scottish working-class lens, whereas nonetheless being entertaining, filled with humour and coronary heart.
The event course of concerned workshops, Studying & Improvement periods and conversations with organisations together with Weight problems UK earlier than later working alongside the British Weight problems Society. Making a secure and supportive setting within the room was extremely essential to us as a result of the fabric is private and delicate for everybody concerned.
We didn’t wish to merely retell experiences or create one thing rooted in judgement. The goal was to method the topic with curiosity, empathy and honesty, permitting audiences to mirror on their very own attitudes and experiences.
We additionally wished the present to behave as a dialog starter, significantly round males’s psychological well being and physique picture, that are topics many individuals nonetheless wrestle to talk brazenly about.
From that got here a one-man play about rising up greater in Scotland, and about looking for self-worth, connection and hope in a world that may usually really feel isolating. Alongside the efficiency, we additionally present audiences with entry to assist and aftercare assets by means of the organisations concerned within the undertaking.
2) How huge a problem do you’re feeling the subjects within the play are for males at present?
The truth that we’re nonetheless having these conversations reveals simply how essential these points stay.
Whereas subjects similar to psychological well being, physique picture and weight problems are receiving extra consideration than they did a decade in the past, many males nonetheless wrestle to talk brazenly about their experiences.
As artists, we really feel a accountability to problem stigma and provides area to voices which can be usually ignored. The themes in MANikin have an effect on way more individuals than we typically realise, significantly when you think about the overlap between physique picture, poverty, psychological well being and social isolation.
Social media has amplified a few of these pressures. Younger males are more and more uncovered to unrealistic expectations round look, health and success, whereas developments similar to “looksmaxxing” can reinforce the concept that self price is tied to the way you look.
On the similar time, conversations round weight reduction medicines have highlighted how individuals residing with weight problems can face judgement whatever the selections they make of their well being journey.
What us when creating MANikin was exploring the human expertise behind the statistics. Weight problems is never nearly meals or train. It’s usually linked to confidence, psychological well being, household circumstances, poverty and alternative. These are the conversations we felt wanted to be explored by means of the play.
3) How has the play been acquired by the lads who’ve seen it and have you learnt of anybody that it’s supplied a optimistic end result for?
The response from males has been extremely shifting. Some of the rewarding facets of the manufacturing has been the conversations that occur after the efficiency.
Many viewers members have shared deeply private experiences regarding physique picture, bullying, psychological well being and their relationship with meals, usually telling us that that they had by no means spoken about this stuff publicly earlier than.
What has been significantly hanging is that the play has resonated past the individuals we initially anticipated. We’ve heard from fathers, sons and companions, but additionally from moms who recognised components of Fraser’s story within the experiences of their very own youngsters.
I feel the explanation the play connects is as a result of Fraser is an everyman. His story is particular, however the emotions of disgrace, isolation, frustration and hope are common. Audiences recognise themselves, or somebody they love, in him.
Essentially the most optimistic end result has merely been creating area for conversations that may not in any other case occur. By our partnership with weight problems organisations, audiences additionally go away with info and assist assets, serving to to make sure that the dialog continues lengthy after the efficiency has ended.
4) How huge a task can sport and the ability of group connection play in fixing lots of the points dealing with males immediately?
For me personally, sport and health fully modified my life. I went from 113kg to 70kg by means of turning into lively, going to the gymnasium and constructing more healthy routines. However extra importantly than the bodily transformation, it modified my mindset and confidence. It opened my eyes to health in a very completely different approach.
One of many greatest issues I realised is that motion, sport and group may give individuals goal, routine and connection, particularly males who could wrestle to speak brazenly about how they’re feeling. Typically the toughest half is solely discovering an setting the place you’re feeling welcome and never judged.
That’s why organisations and group teams that create secure, supportive areas are so essential. They permit individuals to start or maintain a well being journey with out disgrace. Confidence grows from feeling included and inspired.
On the similar time, I feel entry to well being and health info must be way more open and accessible to everybody. For many individuals, particularly working-class communities, it might probably nonetheless really feel intimidating, costly or complicated to know the place to start.
Group-led areas and conversations might help take away a few of these limitations and remind folks that bettering your well being isn’t about perfection, it’s about assist, consistency and connection.
5) Males’s well being is rising to the highest of the information agenda on the again of the English authorities’s Males’s Well being Technique. For those who might prioritise three areas of males’s well being to be tackled, what would they be and why?
The primary can be prevention by means of schooling. We have to transfer past fast fixes and assist individuals perceive well being in a extra holistic approach from an early age. Higher schooling round diet, train, psychological wellbeing and physique picture would permit individuals to make knowledgeable choices earlier than issues turn into extra critical.
The second can be psychological well being. Whereas progress has been made, too many males nonetheless really feel unable to ask for assist or speak brazenly about what they’re experiencing. We have to create extra areas the place these conversations can occur with out disgrace or judgement. You can’t tackle an issue that individuals really feel unable to talk about.
The third can be entry to health and bodily exercise. My very own well being journey confirmed me how transformative motion might be for each bodily and psychological wellbeing. Nevertheless, entry stays a problem for many individuals attributable to value, confidence or lack of native alternatives. Group initiatives similar to MAN v FAT display what can occur when persons are given assist, encouragement and a way of belonging.
MANikin was nominated on the Scottish Theatre Awards 2023 for Greatest Scottish Manufacturing and the Vibrant Spark Award for Rising Expertise alongside runner-up at that years Sit-Up Awards for social affect and received Greatest Drama from social media crew, The Derek Awards in its 2024 return season.
Group bonds have been ever-present with MANikin; collaborating with Thrive Arts to carry out and communicate at occasions relating to system change and the position of the humanities alongside working with representatives from NHS Lothian, Edinburgh Well being and Social Care Partnership, EVOC and talking on the Psychological Well being Discussion board bringing the problems Saltire Sky productions deal with to gentle.
