Inertia

My name is Pollyanna Esse and I am the founder of Ophelia Hare Arts; a multidisciplinary creative organisation with 3 core values: Community, Education and Accessibility. I am committed to making theatre accessible to early-career creatives who are continually undervalued for their work. At the heart of the organisation is a dedication to paying all those involved in our projects properly. This is a huge task and therefore I need your help! Come on the journey with me and my team to set a precedent for Ophelia Hare Arts paying all their creatives the correct amount for their work. May I now introduce you to our latest project...Inertia.

Inertia explores the five stages of grief and healing through poetic language, intense human relationships and visually-driven dance numbers. As well as paying our early career creatives properly, our aim for this project is to create a piece that is accessible to all. We aim to explore healing, well-being and diversity with this project. For years and years, theatre has seemed like a privilege to experience and understand. We wish to erase this stigma and challenge the 'high art' notion of theatre. We aim to make this project available to all audiences and remove the reluctancy of not experiencing theatre due to the fear of not understanding it. Art is and should be for everyone.

Inertia follows the journey of a survivor, Frida Charlotte Grenelvi. Set in the early 90s post the fall of the Soviet Union in Eastern Europe, it explores the human condition, melancholy and madness. Following the death of her abusive husband Boris, Frida immerses into a journey of grief, heightened by the loss of her son, her current pregnancy, her problematic childhood, and her conflict with herself. This journey is supported by her foster children, Lucy and Hermi, by her best friend Marta, Frida's past and present. The play explores significant themes of loss, love and freedom.

The cultural and social demographic of this project is extremely important. Most stories told by the independent theatre scene in Edinburgh encapsulate experiences of the UK, its history and the specific fight for UK-centered identity. While this is important, there has been an absence of stories from a wider cultural demographic, which would expand audience horizons, educate the public and promote inclusivity. Even though Inertia is loyal to its social context, the emotions explored in the play are applicable to everyone at their core. This project thus aims to bring people together, highlight the power of empathy in story-telling and inspire us to tell different stories.

The playwright collected experiences from her mother, grandmother and aunts to create an honest and raw depiction of womanhood during and after the Soviet Union. This play in particular explores the feminine condition (and its doom), the difference in attitudes towards women and the effects of pain each woman experiences. Inertia, particularly Frida, stands for all women in Eastern Europe that have been hurt by generational trauma and rigid attitudes of the Soviet Union and many that are still hurting. This has become particularly relevant due to violent acts happening in Ukraine since February 2022. This project, therefore, aims to bring people's attention to current events and their repercussions on the human psyche that may not always be highlighted by popular media and TV.

With your support from you, we will be able to: