Back when I was young enough to think I knew it all, I thought therapy had no place in theatre. Maybe I’d seen something that was introspective and private, and only of value to its creator/performer. Later I realised almost all theatre genres, done well, are therapeutic at some level for their audiences.  

THERAPY: A Musical Comedy, written and performed by Chelsea McRae, and based on real events, brilliantly avoids introspection by publicly sharing her therapy sessions and interspersing them with her original songs, scored by Mario Sadra de-Jong who performs his music live. Directed by Dr Marea Colombo, it treats us to a spell-binding hour that distils many hours and reveals a whole lifetime to date.

Bright, lively and personable Chelsea just pops into her therapist for a quick catch up and to get a prescription for the medication she believes she needs because of her dizzy spells. Wonderfully articulate and witty with it, she seems to be in full control of her life despite having had two fathers and two husbands, one current and apparently very supportive …  

I’ll reveal no more because the way her story emerges through a sequence of visits, punctuated with texts from her boss, and phone calls from her husband and another man (either her ex or the therapist, not sure), is – along with the songs – part of the charm.

Although we are ‘cast’ as the therapist Chelsea is chatting to, the therapeutic advice she receives is implied through her reactions and responses. Meanwhile we cannot help but analyse her chat and ask ourselves where the truth lies (I do love the oxymoronic ambiguity of that phrase). Is this all, is it all resolved or is she in denial, is there something else even she has not confronted …?

For anyone engaged by all that – as I and my companion are – this is emotionally interactive theatre at a very human level. Whether or not you identify with specific events, circumstances or conditions, you will doubtless recognise the syndromes and either share certain feelings or question them.

Chelsea and Mario are delightfully talented. Cody McCrae’s lighting of the very simple set – a chaise and a keyboard – is unobtrusively effective. THERAPY: A Musical Comedy is, for me at least, a refreshingly insightful comedy.

Duty-of-care footnote:
While I believe we can rest assured that our witnessing THERAPY: A Musical Comedy testifies to Chelsea’s wellbeing right now, she does traverse some territory that may be discomfiting for some – though not in a way that would be triggering, as I see it anyway. Yes, there was trauma but it’s not recreated in performance. The show is built on a foundation of care and compassion. Nevertheless, the programme does list contact details for a range of support services. Tautoko to that.

[Link to the review of the 2024 season in Dunedin, when the title was THERAPY.]

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