Strong characters celebrated
Family stories, music and science are woven together in Valerie, reports Eleanor Wenman.
People grow up listening to stories of their family. Some are funny, some chart a darker history but they’re all passed down generation to generation. Robin Kelly’s family stories are outlandish, frightening at times and form the basis of his show Valerie, named for his grandmother.
Kelly grew up listening to the ‘‘entrancing’’ stories of his grandparents and his grandfather’s family.
‘‘They were a cast of characters.’’
His grandfather’s mother was a gothic character, with a stark white painted face, while his sister’s boyfriend kept live canaries in his beard.
Kelly would hear the stories of his grandparents’ lives, from the time they hosted Frank Sinatra in their Melbourne restaurant to his grandfather’s time training racehorses.
But as Kelly grew older, he uncovered the hidden depths of different stories from his grandmother.
‘‘I started out just to tell Valerie’s quite eccentric stories but the more I delved into those, the more it became readily apparent my grandfather’s mental health was the catalyst [for the stories].’’
His grandfather was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and paranoid schizophrenia and was kept in a home for most of Kelly’s life.
Some of his funny stories took on a darker tinge and Kelly wanted to learn more.
He sat down with his grandmother, Valerie, and started asking her questions – very direct questions – about his family and started getting some very direct answers. ‘‘Building into them further, I realised how their stories affected me.’’
From those conversations grew Valerie the show.
At times, Valerie’s experiences, along with her daughter’s – Kelly’s mother – were traumatic.
‘‘[But] my mother and Valerie, they managed to come out really strong. [Valerie] has worked really hard to come to peace with all the things in her life.’’
Valerie has been to see her grandson’s show, a strange experience to say the least, seeing her struggles on stage.
‘‘She can’t say she enjoys it because it talks about a very difficult time in her life. But I think she found it very moving, just to see how much her life has continued to impact down the generations,’’ Kelly said.
It was a confronting thing to see your life spread out on stage and Kelly had some frank discussions with Valerie after she saw the show.
‘‘We were talking about legacy and what she wants to leave behind. She wants to be remembered for the good things, just like anybody really.’’
Valerie was more than just the stories of Kelly’s grandmother.
His own background is in both music and microbiology. In the show, Kelly weaves the stories of his childhood with his original music and scientific lectures on how mental health is studied and the genetic links that may exist.
Valerie’s story becomes his story as well, as he examines his own mental health, particularly his struggle with depression.
‘‘I think that theatre has some of the most impactful ways of telling stories,’’ he said.
‘‘[But] the real take home from the show is love and the gratitude and appreciation for the strong people in your life and for the people that show you your way.’’
‘‘I think that theatre has some of the most impactful ways of telling stories.’’
Valerie creator Robin Kelly