What’s making these women hysterical? Look under the beddings of our three star patients!

In association with the Sydney Environment Institute, Macleay Museum & The Faculty of Veterinary Science, The Living Room Theatre presents She Only Barks at Night

Weaving remarkable accounts of female hysteria of the 19th century and the controversial hypnosis treatment developed by Jean-Martin Charcot, She Only Barks at Night explores the dark misperceptions of the mind, and misconceptions of femininity, from the past to the present.

Contemporary performance theatre merges with installation, and exhibition to de- stabilise the audience’s mind. You’re transported from the street to Charcot’s theatre to a natural history museum. This production will change the way you see the built environment, museum curation and mental health in the 21st Century.

Along the way, the audience will meet an Andalusian mare Bliss, standing 16 hands high, with her trainer, equine scientist, Kate Fenner. Other major contributors to this multi-faceted production include gifted headwear designer Rosie Boylan (The Great Gatsby, Moulin Rouge)as well as talented taxidermist Gavin Burland. As with the recent LRT performances, the evening will be peppered with the talents of the returning actresses of Burwood Girls High School.

Be prepared for live dissection (of none of the above, unless they really misbehave), and full nudity (the horse and some).

As they say, never work with children and animals, for fear of things unravelling into hysteria…