The Canberra Times
When Zane Menegazzo walked out of his audition for Fragments, playwright Maura Pierlot knew she had found her Mason.
Her Canberra
Many people with mental health problems don’t seek help… Hardly surprising given the stigma that still surrounds the issue.
New Territory
Fragments is noteworthy for its aim to offer a sense of agency to young people who may not feel their experiences of mental health are accurately represented or understood, in theatre and otherwise. And for what it’s worth, the play will undoubtedly help start many important conversations.
REVIEW: Arts Hub
Fragments, written by award-winning Canberra-based author and playwright Maura Pierlot and directed by Shelly Higgs, gives audiences a multi-sensory, embodied experience of what it’s like to be a teenager in distress. The cast delivers the angst-driven script movingly, and are well-supported by an innovative use of set, sound, and lighting.
BMA
The Street Theatre’s upcoming production Fragments is set to be a powerful and emotive show fuelled by Canberra’s next generation of actors.
City News
“My view is that philosophy should be a required course for primary school students,” says playwright, Maura Pierlot.
REVIEW: Canberra Critics Circle
Fragments has a didactic purpose, especially appropriate at this time of year as young people (in the southern hemisphere) complete their Year 12 assessment and receive their Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) results.
The author writes: “Please help create awareness about mental health issues, while reaching out to those who may be struggling, now and in the weeks ahead.”
It’s a kind of theatre-in-education as much for parents and children (and even grandparents) as for social decision-makers in modern times.
Living Arts Canberra
Featuring in the Mental Health Month ACT program, Fragments is a theatrical exploration of connectedness that will make you think and get you talking. Based on a series of conversations with 13 to 18-year-olds in Canberra and beyond, the eight monologues presented in Fragments are imagined stories that touch upon common issues facing teens today.
Canberra Critics Circle
Fragments … is a powerful set of stories about young people struggling with emotional, social, physical and mental health issues during their teenage years. Eight interconnected monologues give us a deep insight into the personal lives of these people. It’s disturbing, revealing and ultimately quite moving… Fragments is fine theatre as well as compelling social comment.
Click on the link below then scroll down for the second Canberra Critics Circle review.