When I first entered the rooms of AA, I was shocked. Not by the stories I heard, I already understood the wreckage left by addiction. Nor was I shocked by the variety of people, or even the length of time some of the elders had been sober. No, the thing that shocked me most was the laughter. Why were these people so happy? Surely, like me, they’d lost? Of course, with time I understood, and in the years since, I’ve embraced the idea of laughter, joy, and celebration in recovery.

When we think of recovery arts, we think of telling stories, often rooted in pain but framed by hope. We tell our stories to educate, to support ourselves and others, but also to advocate for understanding, support, and resources. We so often frame our experiences in straightforward narratives because this is what people need, or want, or demand.

Given this, how refreshing it was to experience Nightingale’s Game: Pretend to be like Who? from The Mixed Bag Players at Theatre41 in York on June 7. Written by the titular Tom Nightingale, who also takes the lead, Nightingale’s Game is part farce, part surrealist dream, and part musical. It’s a play about schizophrenia and addiction, but it’s also a play about justice and hope. Oh it’s also about fantasy, greed, and identity. Oh….and it’s a comedy.

“When people hear the word schizophrenic, they immediately think about axe murderers,” Tom told me when I interviewed him for Issue 6 of Performing Recovery. He’s not wrong either. The stigma of the schizophrenic goes as deep as that of the addict, maybe even more so. Prior to learning about Tom’s work and the Mixed Bag Players, I’d never really stopped to think about how I have internalised prejudices about mental illnesses beyond addiction.

Nightingale’s Game is s fun, joyous, and cleverly written. Essentially a play within a play, Tom plays a fictionalised version of himself, navigating assessments in the mental health system, addiction to marijuana, and exploitative friends – all the while – on the other half of the stage in his alter ego T-Nightingale battles the evil tobacco industry with the help of Psychic Sisters, alien conspiracies, and even God. If it sounds like there’s a lot going on, well, there is. Yet this is the reality of the main character’s world. Tom is stuck between the reductive bureaucracy of a stretched healthcare system, friends who would rather rob him and an uncertain future. Yet he also has delusions of grandeur, a real sense 

Tom told me that the idea behind The Mixed Bag Players was to create a theatre company open to anyone, not just those in addiction recovery. It is a admirable goal, and one that is absolutely followed to the word. Though there is no clear qualification of individuals’ life experiences, the cast is made up of people of varying experience and circumstances, including the character of Papa Cool and God played with dignifying command by Sam, who has advanced Parkinson’s. How refreshing and uplifting it is to see a performance that creates access to the performing arts for people so often written off.

The story was expertly held together by the narrator, Lisa, while Martina and Danni carried the roles of Start and Light with utter charm. The character of Monsieur Cigarette – the flamboyant French villain – and Mr. American, the gun-toting cowboy, were played by one person, almost stealing the whole show at one point by arguing with himself. Ceri brought genuine reality to her role as a mental health worker, the most grounded of the characters, while special mention goes to John who heroically stepped into the role of the Judge at the last minute.

Tom himself is a born storyteller, weaving together his own lived experience with a wacky, insane world, simultaneously critiquing himself one minute, how the corporate world feeds on addictions the next. Then, before you know it, he’s pulled out his guitar for a song. Reminiscent of early indie pop, like Dan Treacy of the Television Personalities, Tom’s music is simple but catchy, and like the rest of the play, soaking in cheeky wit.

With events like these, the audience too is a mixed bag. From the reactions, you know that there are some people in recovery and some for whom this is a new world. Yet, like the company themselves, the joyful spirit behind the play meant that we laughed together. The more I see recovery communities spilling out into the wider world, the more I realise what we have to offer in terms of celebration, ideas, bravery, and true accessibility.

As I said earlier, there’s a lot going on in Nightingale’s Game, and I have to admit I lost the thread more than once. Then again, I often lose the thread even in professionally produced TV dramas – that’s my own neurodivergence, or one of them at least. I too am a mixed bag. We all are. How great to see that expressed with such love.

The Mixed Bag Players can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/835222381575024

The Mixed Bag Players are supported by York in Recovery: https://www.yorkinrecovery.org.uk/

You can read a full interview with Tom Nightingale in Issue 6 of Performing Recovery