SOON TO DEBUT THEATRE PRODUCTION EXPLORES THE LINK BETWEEN MENTAL HEALTH AND RACISM

On June 6, Strictly Arts will debut their theater production of Freeman in Chicago as part of the Physical Theater Festival Chicago. Photo Credit: Richard Kiley
On June 6, Strictly Arts will debut their theater production of Freeman in Chicago as part of the Physical Theater Festival Chicago. Photo Credit: Richard Kiley

Soon To Debut Theatre Production Explores The Link Between Mental Health And Racism

BY KATHERINE NEWMAN

On June 6, a theater production created in England, Freeman, will be making its Chicago debut at the Physical Theater Festival. Freeman was created by Corey Campbell who also stars in the production and is the artistic director of Strictly Arts.

Strictly Arts is a physical theater company led by Campbell and Henry Bays, the company’s executive producer. Freeman started touring in England in 2017 and almost immediately began to sell out every show and garner amazing feedback from critics and viewers.

As a company, Strictly Arts aims to create productions that are engaging, thought-provoking, and unique, according to their website.

“In Freeman, we interrogate and explore the link between systematic racism and mental health,” said Campbell. “We have everything from shadow puppetry to physical movement to text-based work and also a-cappella gospel singing.”

During the Freeman performance, viewers are shown six true stories of black people who had overlapping experiences with the criminal justice system and untreated mental health conditions.

“A member of the public very recently described Freeman as having moments of humor but also as being harrowing and beautiful and I think I agree with that. It does have moments of humor within it, but it is also very hard hitting, raw, visceral, and beautiful,” said Campbell.

The production tells the story of William Freeman, a 16-year-old black man, who was the first person in U.S. history to use insanity as a defense in criminal court in 1847, according to the Historical Society of the New York Courts.

Another story that is showcased in the production is the story of Sandra Bland, a 28-year-old black woman, who was arrested in Texas in 2015 during a traffic stop and three days later was found hanged in her jail cell. Her death was ruled a suicide.

“Each story we tell in this show starts with people being arrested and ends with people dying and in particular, people of color dying. In between their arrest and death they all have some interaction with the justice system where they’re either crying out for attention or indeed asking the justice system to help them and actually not receiving the help,” said Campbell.

Although Campbell and the Strictly Arts company are based in the United Kingdom, they have been able to recognize several parallels in the way that black people experience the criminal justice system and how black people receive mental health services both in the United States and in the United Kingdom.

“The statistic around mental health that have come out both in the United Kingdom and the U.S. show a rise in mental health issues for young vulnerable black men and women. It also shows that these people are not being treated for the mental health issues they have and they are oftentimes arrested and sent to prison and to live their lives in jail,” said Campbell.

Freeman will have three Chicago performances that will take place from June 6 to 8 at 9 p.m. To purchase tickets, visit www.physicalfestival.com/freeman.

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