4.48 PSYCHOSIS
For Anya's Final Major Project at university, she was inspired by Sarah Kane's '4.48 Psychosis', a stream of consciousness that explores an individual's perspective of mental illness and the way it is treated, as the protagonist experiences a mental breakdown, ultimately resulting in her suicide. The dress which was created is 8 metres in diameter, and represents the cloud of depression which descends on the character represent the all-consuming, inescapable nature of depression and other mental illness. It comprises of two layers of chiffon cut and sewn together with French seams, distressed and dip-dyed to create an ombre effect from black edges which blend with the stage floor to light grey. Along side the dress, a ‘straight coat’ was created, a full-length restraining garment with huge hand-made and distressed leather straps and buckles, a fitted body suit made with hand-made felt, latex and chiffon and a hospital gown, worn in the moments of clarity in the performance and to mark the contrast between the 'real - world' and the world the mental illness created.
Garments: Anya Jane Magee
Model: Emma Zadow
Photographer: Hannah Sommer
Hair and Makeup: Charlotte Haldane