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Flying Solo
Birmingham Rep Door
***** RUNNING a marathon, by anyone’s stretch
of the imagination, is a tough feat. For Manjeet Mann, training for her
London Marathon required much more than physical training. In her autobiographical one-woman show, Mann
shares her openly brave story with us, about using running to help with
depression. Hailing from Birmingham, Mann has a charm that
grips the audience with her every word. Her warming persona and jolly
countenance at the beginning of the show is instantly warming. Her determination is impressive which sets off an
inspiration that oozes. Mann also has a background in personal training
and with this, she has powerfully married her two skills of sport and
artistry to create a truly profound and touching story. In her cleverly written piece, she displays a
wonderful passion for her training regime, packed with research and
dedication but also reminds us about the importance of mental health, by
addressing the issue with a brave and personal account of her own past. Mann teaches us that running the London Marathon
requires that the training of the mind is just as important, if not more
so as the physical body. In her self-written script, it is clear that
her deeply emotional childhood has its effects within her adult life. She is open about the stories of her past and the
events that were a contributing factor to her depression - admirable to
watch. Mann is unafraid to tell of the darkness of what was before and
uses her striking ability to inform us of the impact as a way of moving
forward. The performance itself is driven by Mann’s superb
command of the stage. Her script is second to none, with a rhythmic and
conversational tone that draws us in instantly, not to mention her
warming and bouncy Brummie lilt has a charm of its own. Her acting is
more than impressive, showing us her every emotion, without holding
back. It is certainly a brave prospect, especially for
an autobiographical piece. She takes on the personas of characters that
shaped her childhood, breaking into flashbacks of scenes with her
sisters and people at school. The performance is led by the story of
training for the London Marathon in less than three hours, but
underneath is the crux. It is about dealing with mental health in the
best way possible, and perhaps finding the ways to forgive those who
were not entirely supportive. She tells us of her childhood upbringing. As the
youngest of four sisters, we see and hear her interactions and look into
the sibling relationships throughout the years. Living with a drunken,
abusive father and a mother whose death was a result of the
relationship; Mann tells us the impact this had, both as a child,
becoming a school bully to a classmate, and now as an adult, in which
all sisters put the blame on each other. We flit through one time zone to the other, as we
see her in the middle of running the marathon, but flashing back in her
memory to her darkest moments, and all the while her time increasing and
her body depleting. Mann gives a fantastically brave account of
living with depression and trauma, including the struggles that
triggered it. Her trauma within childhood affected the mental health of
the woman she is today and Mann shows us the best way that she could
move forward. Much like a marathon, going through a mental
illness is a personal journey. Mann’s touching and poignant production
shows that through her experience, she is able to help others in similar
situations and is not afraid to speak about her own journey in order for
others to overcome theirs. Elizabeth Halpin 26-02-16
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