A former Coronation Street actress is aiming to break down barriers and raise awareness of bipolar by telling her own real-life story. Natasha Naomi Rea is an ambassador for Bipolar UK which supports anyone affected by bipolar, a mental health condition characterised by extreme mood swings with episodes of depression - feeling very low and lethargic- and mania - feeling restless and overactive.
With A Night with Me, Myself and Bipolar Brenda, the Manchester actress and author is bringing her critically acclaimed best-selling memoir Me, Myself and Bipolar Brenda (The Journals of a Happy Soul With A Chaotic Mind) to the stage, in partnership with Bipolar UK. Me, Myself and Bipolar Brenda tells us the story of Natasha and her journey through bipolar, single motherhood and trying to live the best life possible.
Natasha, who has starred in Bad Blood and Coronation Street, is bringing her book to life with A Night with Me, Myself and Bipolar Brenda. The raw and unflinching one-woman stage show, set in Ibiza, has found its home at the Hope Mill Theatre, Ancoats on Tuesday, April 4 and Wednesday, April 5.
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Based on Natasha's real-life journey, it tells the story of Lily who has run off to the sun-soaked Balearic island to take a temporary break from her life as a single mother and carer for her elderly mama, while also trying to manage her volatile condition, one Natasha believes is still so misunderstood and misrepresented.
Natasha, 34, who was diagnosed with bipolar at the age of 14, felt it was the right time to take her story to the stage. "I have chronic anxiety where it can take me three or four hours to get out of bed in the morning, but with the theatre it's the adrenaline. It means a lot to debut it at the Hope Mill Theatre because my family are from Ancoats and Manchester."
Natasha, who has a 12-year-old son Luciano, says bipolar is not represented enough in the arts. "There is very out there about ADHD and other neurodiverse conditions, but not this condition. It's not a condition people understand. You don't hear people talking about bipolar as much as ADHD or autism. There's still a long way to go."
In 2018, Natasha played a prisoner in Coronation Street jail scenes with soap icon Sally Metcalfe. She has been acting professionally since she was a teen under the wing of David Johnson of David Johnson Drama. David also trained Brassic star Joe Gilgun, who also has bipolar and shone a light on the condition in the Sky comedy drama series with his character Vinnie.
Natasha's show is in tribute to David, the man who kickstarted the careers of a raft of award-winning actors and household names from Greater Manchester, who died last May. David founded the Oldham Theatre Workshop in 1968 and the stars who also learned their craft under his leadership include the late Anne Kirkbride, who played Coronation Street icon Deirdre Barlow, Michael Le Vell, who stars as Kevin Webster, Anna Friel, Suranne Jones and Emmerdale's Lisa Riley.
"I've been surrounded by good souls and David was supposed to be directing me," she said. "I promised him I would take it to the stage. I wrote it because of him."
Natasha had originally written the show as a two-hander. In September she was on a Kundalini yoga retreat in Ibiza when she decided to do a two-woman show as she grieved for the man who was her mentor, father figure and godfather to her son. She said: "I was with all these amazing woman and I grieved. I broke down on this meditation and I came out and sat on a rock. Then I texted my friend (fellow Coronation Street actor) Daniel Jillings to say I was doing the show."
Natasha put together the book Me, Myself and Bipolar Brenda from her own journals between 2013 and 2019 and it inspired a campaign backed by a host of TV stars. The #speakoutlikeBrenda campaign saw former Corrie actress Catherine Tyldesley, Emmerdale's Joe Gill, Samantha Giles and Lisa Riley and Game of Thrones star John Bradley turn extracts from Natasha's book into powerful monologues. To book tickets for A Night with Me, Myself and Bipolar Brenda visit hopemilltheatre.co.uk.
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