Comedy performer and theatre maker Hannah Walker talks to us about her bittersweet multimedia theatre production Gamble before heading on tour.
What inspired you to create Gamble?
I’d been with my partner for a while when I discovered he’d been gambling a lot of money. I didn’t tell anyone about what was happening because I found it very difficult to talk about. There is such a stigma attached to a gambler and I didn’t want people to judge him or think he wasn’t wonderful.
After a few months of attending GamAnon I began to open up to some people and share my story. The more I talked about it, the more I realised how many people wanted to share their stories and the project began from there.
It was very small to begin with. My partner became a consultant on the project and for a while it was myself, him and the co-creator Rosa Postlethwaite.
Did you face any challenges when translating personal experiences into a theatrical production, and how did you navigate the process?
As it is such a personal story we put strategies in place to ensure we were all safe during the rehearsal process and we also have an excellent mentor, Amy Golding.
It was sad at times but I actually found it very therapeutic. Talking and listening to people’s stories helps so much!
In the devising process I wrote a timeline of my relationship with gambling and then created mini response performances for each memory. I went back to the very beginning when I used to play bingo at the village hall with lovely older ladies, to my current understanding of the gambling world.
What could have been a challenge reinforced the importance of the project to me as my partner relapsed a year after I had begun making the show. The project evolved from that and I think it’ll always evolve however long I continue to perform it.
What role do the post-show talks and coffee & cake ‘change-making’ events play in fostering discussions about gambling addiction, and what outcomes do you hope to achieve?
The Q&A is with Dr Matt Gaskell who is fantastic and doing incredible things to help people. It’s an essential part of the show and provides an insightful perspective about addiction and how the gambling industry practises fuel it. He points people in the right direction to get the help and support they need and he really cares.
When you realise that other people are going through what you are, it makes it easier to come to terms with. It’s what I really needed when I found out about my partner and when I began to talk about my situation I created connections with people unlike any other. I hope audiences feel they can share their experiences with me about gambling addiction if it’ll help them, either at the Q&A or the coffee and cake change making event. The event is also an opportunity to write to local MPs and other changemakers.
The show is integrated BSL interpreted and we’ve found that many people experiencing gambling addiction who are BSL users often struggle to access support so both the Q&A and coffee morning are BSL interpreted.
As a comedy performer, how do you approach the balance between humour and the seriousness of the topic in order to create a relatable and entertaining experience for your audience?
Telling the truth! The show is fun (even with the debatable singing and debatable dancing) but it’s also sad and deals with a subject matter that causes so much pain. It’s relatable for people who have experienced someone who’s gambled and it’s also for others to learn about it. The Q&A with Dr Gaskell goes well with the show. I get to play and share my story and then it’s followed by a professional who delves into the devastating realities he faces on a day to day basis.
How can theatre effectively help change perceptions and reduce stigma around addiction, specifically compulsive gambling?
It brings the topic up so we talk about it and face it. There is such a stigma around gambling addiction and the more I talk about this show, the more people talk to me about their experience, and share that a family member or someone they know is a compulsive gambler. It’s so important to me that audiences leave the show knowing that gambling has nothing to do with someone’s character.
Gamble tours across the UK 15 February – 28 March 2024. More information and tickets can be found here: https://thehannahwalker.com/
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