The definition of a turning a setback into a comeback.
This month, the one-woman play, ‘How To Fall Flat On Your Face,’ will see leading lady, Katie Honan, explore mental health through a modern and innovative storytelling style, on stage at the Project Arts Centre in Dublin.
Honan, like many people, decided she wanted to move abroad and explore life outside Ireland. Within two months of her fresh start in London, she fell flat on her face – literally.
The incredible part of her story is that she took that pain and the lessons that came during the healing process and transformed them into a powerful and dark-humoured play that explores mental health and body image, as well as promoting human connection and important conversation long after the curtain call.
Ahead of the premiere on November 8th, I spoke with the Waterford playwright who will take to the stage alone to play a woman named Anna, who is nothing short of a perfectionist.
However, her very nature and strive for perfection ultimately leaves her contemplating her choices in a hospital corridor after, you guessed it, falling flat on her face.
While Anna’s story is fictional, it is inspired by lessons learned by Honan during her own healing journey after her fall in London.
“What I found in my own healing process, from my own fall, was that it did open my eyes to how much I chase perfection. It made me think that I chase perfection to a point where I was not present in my life.
“That in a certain moment, instead of looking at the bigger picture of something, I would always be fixated on that one imperfection.”
This perfectionism, which can have distracting, sad, and even comical outcomes, the Waterford native says, is at the root of Anna’s character and at the foundations of the storyline written by Honan.
This is expected to be a funny and dark dive into how ‘sweating the small stuff’ can escalate and witnessing Anna try to make her way back from the depths of her injury.
“That idea, for me, trying to really dig into that was something that I was really interested in—you know, that idea of just becoming absolutely fixated, to an unhealthy extent, on perfection. That is where this character is.
“Ultimately, the essence of drama is built on change and the struggle a character must go through to achieve that change, and I believe that’s true of drama and of life. In this play, we see someone that’s going through a very personal struggle, but ultimately, that is going to lead to change, you know? That’s really what this play is about.”
‘How to Fall Flat on Your Face’ makes its Dublin debut off the back of its success and award-winning run in Waterford’s Garter Lane Arts Centre last year.
We all fall down in life, whether metaphorically or literally. However, the message of getting back up is what Honan really wants people to take home with them.
The fact this play is inspired by relatable struggles is likely one reason viewers resonated with the character and story, as she saw people from all walks of life come to watch Anna fall flat on her face, as well as receiving praise and acclaim from the audience.
“A young daughter and a mother could come and enjoy together. But then, like last year, I was really taken aback by the response from the male audience members, often older in their 40s.
“Exploring mental health in our current world is something that will have a resonance with many people.”
Describing her writings as ‘surprisingly heartwarming’ and ‘visually exciting’, the playwright explains that it would be a great group outing that can be ‘knitted in the night out’ quite easily due to its affordability, snappiness, and human interest element.
This outing won’t take over an entire night, but it is the gift that will keep on giving in terms of the messages within.
“It’s snappy—a no-interval kind of thing. You know, if you’re going to a three-hour Shakespeare, which can be fantastic, but take over a whole evening. You can get a bit of dinner before or after; just because it has that shorter time for that chat after, it can be a really enjoyable thing.”
When it comes to viewers of ‘How to Fall Flat on Your Face’, Honan hopes that the play, and the arts in general, will evoke thoughts and conversation.
Through her writing, she has the goal of bringing awakenings, similar to those she experienced herself, to the audience.
“Watching a piece of art, hopefully, might make you think about something in your life differently, or you know, and you might realise something about yourself that you didn’t know.
“As a playwright, I want to put a lens on the internal rhythms of a human, and I want to make theatre that makes people feel less alone. I want the audience to feel like they’re in this person’s mind because ultimately I love and am moved by things that make me feel less alone in the world; connecting with other human beings is just, I think, the most powerful thing that we have.”
How to Fall Flat on Your Face premieres on November 8th and will run until the 18th at the Project Arts Centre in Dublin, with a preview night on the 7th.
Tickets can be purchased here, and you can also follow Katie’s updates about How to Fall Flat on Your Face, and future projects, on Instagram at @kthonan.
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