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- Journey through the Looking Glass: how psychiatric hospital patients came to the big stage
Journey through the Looking Glass: how psychiatric hospital patients came to the big stage
The unusual theater studio "Zazerkalye" operates at Stavropol Psychiatric Hospital No. 1. They are proud of the fact that she continues the traditions laid down when the clinic was founded in 1907. And in the fall of 2025, for the first time in the history of the city, patients took to the big stage with professional actors as part of the inclusive production of "The Bag I really wanted to be Needed." Izvestia investigated how the idea of creating a studio and this performance came about, how the actors reacted to such an experience, and why such therapy was needed not only for people with disabilities.
When you want to share
The first theater studio appeared at the clinic at the same time as its foundation — in 1907, in the wake of the general popularity of the theater, a hall was equipped and decorations were arranged in one of the halls at the expense of benefactors. A year later, the first performance was released, in which both patients and staff of the medical institution were engaged.
— There are also many talented people among people with mental disorders who, due to their state of health, cannot realize themselves professionally, but they sincerely want to benefit society and be needed. And on the amateur stage, they can show their abilities and talents, realize themselves, which is extremely important for them," the hospital says.
The hospital decided to return to this topic in 2009. Then the creative studio "Through the Looking Glass" appeared here.
— The story of "Through the Looking Glass" began in the office of a psychologist at the inpatient rehabilitation department of the hospital, — says Evgenia Akimova, a medical psychologist at the Stavropol Psychiatric Hospital No. 1, director of the non-profit organization "Soul Art". — We had a patient who wrote songs and played guitar, and we wanted to get to know his work and his story through these songs.
The patient, to whom the specialists had previously failed to find an approach and who refused to talk about his life, suddenly opened up at such informal meetings, and the hospital realized that this project had rehabilitation potential. They began to develop this area on the basis of a day hospital, but it soon became clear that these meetings were not enough.
— It became clear that people are overwhelmed by their energy, creativity, and they want to share. And this is a very important indicator, when a person wants to share, it means that he himself is filled, which means there is no emptiness, which often occurs inside due to illness," said Evgenia Akimova.
That's how the idea of a full-fledged studio came about. Classes in it not only help patients who are faced with mental problems to realize themselves, but also help to maintain and develop social skills, give purpose and meaning in order to take care of themselves. In a normal situation, people who encounter such violations may neglect this due to lack of strength and motivation.
In addition, preparing for the role, the need to get used to the image, helps to develop communication and empathy — two skills that often suffer from people with neuropsychiatric diseases, says the psychologist.
Over time, the studio members began to travel to boarding schools and other social institutions. So the group in the hospital grew into an independent structural unit within the dispensary — the Patients' Club, on the basis of which the theater studio operates today.
— The theater studio is one of the directions of socio-cultural rehabilitation. Along with him, patients are engaged in other types of creativity: vocal, musical, visual, compose poems, prose, says the chief physician of the hospital, - says the chief physician of the hospital Oleg Boev. — They attend cultural events in the city together, discuss what they have seen and read.
"My son has returned to me"
Ivan, one of the actors in the play "The Bag I Wanted to Be Needed," presented on the big stage this fall, was first admitted to a psychiatric hospital when he was 20 years old.
— We have an ordinary family, four sons were growing up, only Vanya suddenly encountered the disease. He grew up a calm, kind boy, a little introverted. He was a very smart boy, he even did math for his brother," says his mother, Valentina.
After school, like many of his classmates, he went to work at a factory. And a few years later, his disease manifested for the first time — Ivan began to hallucinate.
— It was very scary. His appearance has changed, his eyes have gone out. He was a very kind and sunny person, but his illness changed him," recalls Valentina.
Together with his mother, Ivan was hospitalized for a long time, where he was given drugs that slowed down his psyche — there was no other way out with his illness, Valentina admits. Nevertheless, she and her son returned regularly and stayed there for a long time. Ivan's onset of the disease was followed by three suicide attempts.
— The first one happened when his brother got married. It's probably very scary when your brothers live a normal life, create families, and you don't have that opportunity," Ivan's mother admits.
After the third attempt, which occurred after the death of Ivan's beloved grandmother, Evgenia Akimova noticed him at the department and invited him to the club. It "dramatically changed my life for the better," admits Valentina.
— Participation in the theater studio really liberated him. He began to communicate with the guys more often, and this is very important for his development, because it's very difficult to sit in four walls all the time," she says. — There's even a girl they call on the phone with, who tries to support them when she's having some kind of crisis, which he didn't have before. And by helping others, you help yourself.
If Ivan went to other classes at the club under the mood, periodically, then the theater studio turned out to be directly "his," says the interlocutor of Izvestia. The young man, who used to love singing, writing poetry and performing in family and friendly productions, tries not to miss a single lesson.
"My son has returned to me again, his eyes are shining, he is interested in something, he shares his impressions of what is happening at the rehearsals," says Valentina.
"Treat as equals"
The play "The Bag I wanted to be Needed" based on the play by the modern playwright Guli Nasyrova in "Through the Looking Glass" was staged by a professional actor of the Stavropol Puppet Theater Vitaly Yakushenko. The production is devoted to the issues of relevance, the search for new meanings and interaction with the outside world.
A year ago, he himself did not even think that inclusion would become a significant part of his life, the director tells Izvestia. He had become familiar with the play and the concept of inclusive theater a few years earlier, during the pandemic, when he "greedily absorbed" everything that was happening outside the city.
Then, with this idea, Yakushenko came to the studio "Through the Looking Glass", where he proposed to jointly stage a play based on this play. At the studio, he was offered to do several other productions first, and then prepare the play.
— During my work, I realized that I don't see any limitations in terms of creativity. For me, there are no mental or musculoskeletal features," Yakushenko says. — It seems to me that there are just people who want to be creative — there are amateur actors, and there are professional actors. That's all.
Unlike the usual concerts and productions in the hospital, professionals play on the stage along with the patients, amateur actors, and the performance itself was shown to the audience on the big stage of the Puppet Theater. This was the first such experience in the history of the city of Stavropol.
The production took nine months to complete, including several months spent searching for a female lead. It was eventually performed by a young Stavropol actress Evgenia Novikova.
It was her first experience working with inclusive projects. She agreed to participate right away, the actress tells Izvestia, but at first it was not entirely clear how to interact with amateur actors.
— It was scary, because after all, it seems to me that there are certain prejudices against people with mental or physical disabilities, it is not entirely clear how to communicate with them, — says the actress. — But not that it was necessary, in my opinion, to treat them in any special way, even too well. I think we should treat them as equals.
She had no doubts almost immediately, recalls Evgenia Novikova.
"Literally after a few rehearsals, we became friends, understood each other without words, and the whole process was no different from working with an ordinary team in other theaters in another team," she says.
The practice of working on the play has shown that people with disabilities have limited possibilities only of the body, but the soul is very free, says the actress of the puppet theater Svetlana Ilyadis.
— It is impossible to play the condition, it should be. And they have this state of flight, purity and sincerity initially present. I'm a leading stagehand, with 45 years of experience, and I didn't feel special while working on the play," says Svetlana.
The performance became an outlet for the studio participants to a whole new level, admits Evgenia Akimova.
— The dream of entering the professional stage with our studio appeared a long time ago. But it takes a lot of determination. Any intervention in our work must be weighed," says the clinical psychologist. — We must understand that after this intervention, the person will get better, not worse. Entering the professional stage is stressful, and a person must be prepared for it. And it seems that our studio is the part that went on stage, it has matured to this.
In her opinion, the choice of the play on which the play was staged turned out to be especially important: when people who know what it means to want to be needed talk about it, it turns out in some places even deeper than that of an "ordinary" actor.
— On the one hand, this is a very general story, it is clear to everyone. Everyone wants to be needed by someone. On the other hand, it is very deeply personal for each participant of the performance. And in this way, she can deeply engage the viewer," argues Evgenia Akimova.
The premiere of the play at the hospital took place in July, and in October, everyone was invited to the Stavropol Puppet Theater for an open screening of the play.
— The result exceeded all expectations, many viewers said that it was often not even clear who the participant was, — says Evgenia Novikova.
According to Svetlana Ilyadis, many people came out with tears in their eyes.
Learning the desire to live
The task of modern psychiatry is not just to remove symptoms, but to help a person recover and live a full life, recalls Evgenia Akimova. In this sense, the work of the theater studio "Zazerkalye" shows good medical results.
— We analyzed those guys who are actively involved in our work, and over the years the frequency of their hospitalizations in the hospital has decreased, while some hospitalizations have stopped in principle, leaving only a day hospital and a rehabilitation center. And this is an indicator based not only on emotions, but also on figures and facts," she says.
The practice of using theater in rehabilitation activities is used in many regions of Russia and around the world, says Oleg Boev. The Ariadne's Thread international festival is being organized for figures in this field, and the My Native Country is Wide festival is being held in Russia for adults with mental disabilities.
— Our studio maintains constant active communication with similar ones in Nizhny Novgorod, Ulyanovsk, St. Petersburg, Moscow. We have a lot to learn from each other," he notes.
Back in 2013, the work of "Through the Looking Glass" expanded beyond the city hospital. Its creators founded the regional festival "Soulful Art", which was joined by various regional cultural and artistic figures.
— It was amazing to see when neither a psychiatrist nor a psychologist came with his creative idea. At first, there was an impulse to say, "Wait, it's going to be too difficult for them here," or something like that, recalls Evgenia Akimova. — But in the end, it turned out to be a bright, fruitful collaboration.
The experience of such interaction with people with disabilities is necessary for everyone in the modern world, Svetlana Ilyadis is sure.
"The desire to live is what we learn from these people," she is convinced.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
