The Maladies by Carmen Nasr

Accessible and pertinent, and an excellent addition to teaching resources

In 2019, British-Lebanese writer Carmen Nasr gathered with the Almeida Young Theatre Company to create a show. Their ideas began with a set of true historical incidents of ‘mass hysteria’ almost exclusively affecting young women, especially those in institutions where they were almost powerless. This led to the company asking themselves what such an outbreak would look like today.

The Maladies crosses time and we find ourselves led through the action by Susan and Christina to France in the 1500s where women are contracting a dancing disease, some dancing themselves to death. The women in the bakery suspect there is something in the bread. In Tanzania in 1962, there is an outbreak of abnormal emotional behaviour in schoolgirls causing attacks of laughing and crying lasting from a few minutes to a few hours. Parents are advised to avoid talking to their girls about their future hopes and dreams, to busy them with chores and not to let them drink the water. In the USA in 2011 high school girls start to twitch. No one knows why. In London in 2023 women are falling silent, some suspect it to be chemicals in the water.

The play begins with a group of young women recording a podcast about female empowerment, and their development of the podcast is intertwined with the different times and places. As the stories connect, the podcast goes live and overlaps with the high school girls appearing on live TV. The use of a core theme of the treatment of women through time, linking all the stories together is really appealing and relevant in this play. The female characters all have a connection that students will relate to and playing out a story through different time periods would be a lot of fun for students.

The play has a large mixed cast, making it ideal for school performance, but it would also work with a smaller cast where actors multi-role and it would make a great stimulus for GCSE or A Level work. The range of characters would offer a great variety for students and there is also a lot of opportunity for ensemble work which could be from the main cast, smaller roles or different actors entirely.