Frankie Thompson cites the radical freedom of clowning in battling her anorexia

Self-styled ‘emerging idiot’ Frankie Thompson lit up the 2022 Edinburgh Fringe with her one woman ‘lip sync ballet’ CAttS.

Loosely set up as a one-woman adaptation of Cats (the musical) – though, she points out, it’s “not about cats, not about musicals, not about Cats the musical” – it draws inspiration from clowning, performance art, and Andrew Lloyd Webber among other things to address Thompson’s battle with anorexia; a challenge she continues to contend with every day.

The show has since played a sell-out run at London’s Soho Theatre, and now comes to Bristol Old Vic’s Weston Studio on May 16-20.

Thompson spoke in depth to Bristol24/7 about her relationship with her art, particularly in terms of mitigating some of the psychological affects of her eating disorders, and helping her to embody her authentic self on stage.

Photo: Thomas Moen

Can you describe the power of clowning and the absurd to convey raw, emotional honesty?

“Gosh this is such a big question! And I can only speak for me, (a clown who very much picks and chooses what parts of clowning she uses), but clowning is an inherently vulnerable art form and one that, through philosophy and community, absolutely saved my life.

“I started clowning when I was lost in the depths of anorexia and other eating disorders I was battling as a teenager. Anorexia nearly cost me my life and I had to be extremely brave to fight it, (as I still do now everyday).

“Perfection is a defining pressure in anorexia, and the medical effects of the eating disorder on my brain had meant that I had become rigid and reliant on patterns and negative habits to cope. When I first entered into clown training I was walking up to 20 miles a day on chewing gum alone – in what was one of the most unhappy times of my life.

“When I discovered clowning, I fell upon a world that was the absolute reverse of that perfectionist pressure. It was all about being stupid, failing and flopping and being ridiculous and grotesque! But simultaneously, the absurdity and often quite dark ridiculousness of it articulated perfectly the experience of what I was going through. So I absolutely dived into the deep end.

“I’m a very clumsy person and it wasn’t long into my first clowning lesson that I fell over a chair and landed on my head in a uniquely awkward way. I was, of course, excruciatingly embarrassed, but my clown teacher turned to me and said ‘That was really stupid. Well done’.

“Radical Freedom! Idiot Geniosity! A new wave of acceptance for myself!

“For me, ultimately, clowning and the community I got from it gave me a sense of self and framework that mattered to me more than the grip of my eating disorder. It gave me a reason to fight.

“So of course for me, being ridiculous on stage is incredibly emotional, because I am telling you my story and kicking my eating disorder up the bum in real time (whether you notice it or not).”

Photo: Erin Hopkins

Is it easier to access that inner truth when you are inhabiting a character far removed from yourself?

“This is really interesting because I actually think the character or persona I have on stage is actually closer to who I am inside. I’m awkward and disgusting (in a really beautiful way) and absolutely baffled by the world I find myself in.

“I think that when you’re a person who experiences any kind of mental illness and/or neurodivergence you end up performing a lot in everyday life – for example through masking and hiding things that feel most comfortable to you in an attempt to connect with others and through fear of alienating people. It’s truly exhausting!

“When I’m really engaging with my clown persona, I actually feel my most sexy and most beautiful, even though I tend to be doing something like pouring marmite into my mouth or licking the floor. It’s easier than performing Frankie Thompson off stage.

“So I suppose, it’s easier to assess inner truth because that disgusting, painfully awkward version of myself you’re watching on stage is actually closer to me than I am.”

Photo: Erin Hopkins

Can you describe the creative process which you and Liv Ello harnessed as the show developed, and the reason you work so well together?

“Collaborating with Liv Ello has been incredible and something I hope to do lots and lots more of.

“Liv has a real talent for being able to see the overall meaning of a piece and to articulate what is needed to communicate what you’re trying to say. This is one of the things that makes them a phenomenal director and this was how we wove things together.

“There’s real intimacy in the way we work. I don’t think that I would be able to access such vulnerable content without that level of mutual understanding. We both make work that is cross disciplinary and exists in in between spaces; my work sits uncomfortably in comedy and uncomfortably in theatre and they really get this.

“We’re working on a new show together called BODY SHOW with us both on stage for Edinburgh next year and it’s real bliss to be in a creative process with them again.”

Photo: Erin Hopkins

What is it about the handmade aesthetic that attracts you?

“Hahaha. I actually refer to my work as ‘shitty DIY’ but ‘handmade’ is very forgiving! I think this aesthetic actually arose out of necessity rather than desire. I’ve always made my own sound and videos because I don’t have enough money with proper skills to pay people to do it for me! But I also enjoy it – it’s part of the process of building something and I experience real bliss from making things.

“I think that things made by me best articulate the world as it appears in my head and an aesthetic that is unique to me. That said, I am really keen to find collaborators who understand but also can extend this aesthetic in future projects.”

For you, is there a symbiosis between making work and a new kind of activism?

“I’m going through a change at the moment where I’ve decided I really want to focus on anorexia in my work. It’s always been there, if sometimes unmentioned, because it’s such a big part of who I am and how I experience the world.

“But now I want to focus, research and understand from more than just my own experience why there has been such an increased prevalence in anorexia over recent years, and how to fight it.

“There was a leak recently that revealed a devastating trend of referring to anorexia as a ‘terminal’ illness. (Article in The Independent published by Health Correspondent Rachel Thomas in February 2023). The death toll from suicide and complications as a result of eating disorders has increased dramatically, because those suffering are not reaching help in time – thanks to cuts to mental health services on the NHS. Again this is symptomatic of the political trends in this country right now, which I think makes anorexia a vital case study for the state of things.

“I want to make art that is preventative of anorexia, not palliative for those who are losing their lives to it. To do that I have to research.

“It’s a difficult time for art that wants to initiate social change, because artists are under a lot of pressure to be commercial in order to make things happen. But hey, if any TV commissioners somehow reading this want to commission a documentary series from me on this, please do. I’m determined to fight, as I wish someone had done for me, so that I didn’t have to live with this thing now. (Watch this space!)”

Photo: Erin Hopkins

Have you been surprised by the audience response to CAttS, and the momentum the show has garnered to date?

“Gosh yes! It feels wild. And I’ve gone through all sorts of self doubt about whether I deserve it, as is the experience of being an anxious person.

“I’ve had some really incredible responses, but the ones that mean the most are the ones that really get it, because it feels close to what it’s trying to do, which is ultimately to say:

I’m trying to work out how to cope
And getting nowhere
Because I have confused working it out, with working out
And every distraction the world offers to me
Is actually trying to sell me something
So I run further away from realising
That when I turn and look inside myself and the monsters inside me in the eye
That those monsters are just as scared of me
As I am.
…
But I’m still working it out really.
So I’ll just watch cat videos for now. And that’s ok.”

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CattS is at The Weston Studio, Bristol Old Vic on May 16-20 at 8pm. Tickets are available at www.bristololdvic.org.uk.

Main photo: Erin Hopkins

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