The Edge Theatre, Newtown Festival 1998. An hour long.
Directed by James Manser.
Written by Shauna Winram
Performers: Cath Stuart & Shauna Winram
Produced by Van Gogh’s Cobblers (James Manser, Cath Stuart, Con Tastsidis and Shauna Winram).
Filmed by Rose Turtle Ertler.
 
The production of this play spanned two years, 1998-99. We did the first run of Van Gogh's Boots for friends at the Tap Gallery in Darlinghurst. From there we did numerous festivals, including the Kings Cross Festival, the Newcastle Festival, the Melbourne Fringe Festival and the Newtown Festival. We also performed for numerous mental health conferences, including a gig at the NSW State Library.

This was a labour of love and a wonderful collaboration. I treasure the time spent working with Cath, Con and James.

I met Cath when we were both in the psychiatric ward of Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in 1997. Months after we had left there we bumped into each other at Enmore pool. I had just written the script. I asked her if she could perform. She said “sure!” Then James came on board, whose skills as a director cannot be overstated. Cath’s acting is superb. And Con was always there taking care of things, likewise playing a vital role in the success we had.

As for the play itself, this is video footage of a live performance. Of course, theatre is always best seen in real life. But this is still watchable. And enjoyable. It tells the tale, step by step, of a five day period of psychosis that led to my hospitalisation in 1991. I was 21 when this episode happened to me. It makes me sad that I was so young.

Contact me if you want to take a look at the script

Van Gogh's Boots:
A Guided Tour Through Psychosis