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'The life-changing memoir, now a breathtaking Belvoir play.
'Since its publication thirty years ago, Anne Deveson’s family memoir Tell Me I’m Here has become a classic. And now, in a superb adaptation, it comes to the Belvoir stage.
'Anne’s life – the familiar juggle of marriage, career, emotions, chaos – is thrown off-balance when her son Jonathan begins speaking oddly, standing strangely, flashing into irrationality and rage. Is it just a phase, part of growing up? The years pass, and it’s clear, Anne’s son has been diagnosed with schizophrenia. But putting a name to it is one thing – getting attention, getting help is another. Even the strongest families, the most steadfast parents, buckle under such stress.
'Heart-rending, exquisitely touching, a play which speaks things which normally aren’t spoken. A play about getting on with life, before it’s too late.'
Source: Belvoir St Theatre.
Production Details
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Produced by Belvoir St Theatre (Upstairs Theatre), 20 August - 25 September 2022.
Director: Leticia Cáceres.
Cast including Tom Conroy and Sarah Peirse.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Jonathan Had Schizophrenia and Died at 24. Now Tom Conroy Is Playing Him on Stage
Kelly Burke
(interviewer),
2022
single work
interview
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 9 September 2022; -
Belvoir’s Tell Me I’m Here Looks at the Impact of Mental Illness on the Whole Family. It Is a Wrenching and Beautiful Work
2022
single work
review
— Appears in: The Conversation , 26 August 2022;
— Review of Tell Me I'm Here 2022 single work drama'Released in 1991, the memoir Tell Me I’m Here remains a landmark examination of the experience of mental illness in Australia. Journalist Anne Deveson offered a raw and painful account of her eldest son Jonathan’s experience with schizophrenia, her family’s attempts to weather the storms of his illness, and her research into the condition.'
-
Belvoir’s Tell Me I’m Here Looks at the Impact of Mental Illness on the Whole Family. It Is a Wrenching and Beautiful Work
2022
single work
review
— Appears in: The Conversation , 26 August 2022;
— Review of Tell Me I'm Here 2022 single work drama'Released in 1991, the memoir Tell Me I’m Here remains a landmark examination of the experience of mental illness in Australia. Journalist Anne Deveson offered a raw and painful account of her eldest son Jonathan’s experience with schizophrenia, her family’s attempts to weather the storms of his illness, and her research into the condition.'
-
Jonathan Had Schizophrenia and Died at 24. Now Tom Conroy Is Playing Him on Stage
Kelly Burke
(interviewer),
2022
single work
interview
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 9 September 2022;