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Playwright Alana Valentine is urging scientists and clinicians to attend her new play, Made to Measure, at the Seymour Centre because it puts complex research in the public domain and it brings to life the human behaviour around obesity issues.

鈥淲hen I was at the Charles Perkins Centre I was shocked at how frustrated scientists are by the lack of a complex approach to the science around obesity,鈥� Valentine said. 鈥淚 heard the most harrowing stories of their research being misrepresented and tabloid shock tactics. So it鈥檚 been a huge relief to me that the scientists who have seen Made to Measure have endorsed and enjoyed it so much.鈥�

鈥淭he public domain is so fraught and so contested around body image, but what theatre can do is actually show all the contradictions and conflicts as they relate to vulnerable, complex human beings and the decisions they make about nutrition.鈥�

Valentine wrote Made to Measure with support from the University of Sydney鈥檚 ,听committed to easing the global burden of the 鈥榣ifestyle diseases鈥� such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and related conditions using a collaborative and multi-disciplinary approach.听Her interactions with researchers at the Centre informed the work, and ensured the latest scientific evidence could be incorporated into the storytelling.

The play is the story of a young woman, Ashleigh, who is living in a large body and seeking to have a wedding dress made for her. Ashleigh lives with a negative 鈥渋nner voice鈥� constantly nagging her about negative health outcomes if she doesn鈥檛 lose weight. The story is both comical and emotionally-affecting as Ashleigh navigates her experiences with her friends, fianc茅, her GP and her dress maker.

Ashleigh is played by Indigenous actor Megan Wilding, who was nominated for a Sydney Theatre Award for her work in the Sydney Theatre Company鈥檚 critically-acclaimed Blackie Blackie Brown.

鈥淲hen we had a public reading of the play, the scientists who attended said it 鈥榟umanised鈥� the issues for them,鈥� Valentine said. 鈥淭he problem of obesity is literally three dimensional. When you come to the theatre and see the bodies on stage it is going to give scientists some surprising insights into their assumptions and scientific conclusions.鈥�

Weight bias is a pervasive and destructive form of discrimination, said Valentine. 鈥淪haming and bullying people who are living in large bodies is common, callous and counter-productive to their life and health. But equally problematic is an attitude which advocates that people living in large bodies should just be left to their own devices, that when they ask for support and advice they should be ignored.鈥�

Obesity and audiences

, academic director of the Charles Perkins Centre, said theatre was a great way for the general public to see and hear the lived experiences of someone living in a larger body.

鈥淚t is inspiring to see art and science working together in this character who is trying to understand all the research behind 鈥榣ifestyle鈥� diseases,鈥� Professor Simpson said. 鈥淚n the play, audiences can not only hear the science, they can also experience the emotions and the perceptions and fears around weight issues. Seeing a piece of theatre with strong messages is a rich and impactful experience.鈥�

In 2017, Valentine was appointed co-Writer-in-Residence of the Centre, and is currently completing a second play about the public evisceration of scientists who present unpopular scientific findings. The Charles Perkins Writer-in-Residence program was made possible through the generous support of University of Sydney alumna and patron Judy Harris.

Valentine urges scientists and clinicians to book tickets to see the play, which is running until June 1.

鈥淪cientists told me repeatedly that they wished that their work was respected and presented in the public domain in ways that could create real change, so I鈥檓 confident that they will support this work as a community of interest,鈥� said Valentine.

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