Written and Performed by Katie Damer
A brave and inspiring piece of theatre
A warm buzzing atmosphere welcomed us into The Peer Hat for the final performance of ‘Totally Trucked’, part of this year’s Greater Manchester Fringe Festival. This was my first visit to this intimate venue, accompanied by theatre buddy and drama graduate Alice Galvin; we both agreed it wouldn’t be our last.
Totally Trucked is an autobiographical piece written and performed by Katie Damer herself; using comedy contrasting with pathos, as a vehicle to tell her story about living with ‘Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome’ and how it has affected her life.
From the outset, the talented writer and performer, Katie Damer reels us in, taking us back to those hazy teenage years, when all you wanted was to grab a bit more kip, turn the alarm off and make it to school in the nick of time; a time of raging hormones: first kisses and pushing the boundaries, it all resonates with us, and we laugh along, captivated by her every word.
Katie then time shifts and flawlessly feeds us the events that changed her life, the events that left her ever grasping for a normal teenage life once more. Katie- during a health kick -was riding her bike when a truck hit her, mangling her bike beneath its wheel. We are there with her in the moment, so skillful is her storytelling and use of space.
With a raucous gritty retelling of moments in her life- her ‘slag phase’, ‘losing her virginity’, her love of vodka and living it large, Katie has the audience in fits of laughter, making the plunges into sadness and PTSD even more poignant, revealing the ups and downs of her life- when she was told, she would suffer chronic pain for the rest of her life, even wheelchair bound.
Music and sound effects compliment the piece well, providing dialogue for the scenes with the therapist and answerphone message from her Mum as Katie finally attempts to take her own life. This all adds to the emotion, the drama and the comedy. The stage is simply set with a chair and a projector but we imagine every scene and it’s visually interesting because Katie owns the stage with her physical presence, like when she loses the use of her arm in Nandos and Curtis has to cut up her chicken.
Tackling the subject of teenage mental health and the pressures on young people, Katie takes us on a roller coaster ride of emotions when as well as her own experience, she tells of her close friends at drama school, falling victim to drug misuse, depression, anxiety, attempted suicide.
This was a powerhouse performance from Katie, who kept us gripped and entertained throughout and even more so because it’s real, this is her own life. Her standing ovation at the end was well deserved. Katie has a real knack with storytelling, a true inspiration to young people to stick with it…a beacon of hope.Against all odds she powered through, got off the crutches and even ran a marathon!
If you get a chance to see this, I would truly recommend it.
