The Expulsion of Exulansis | Get Your Coats On

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“I have felt safe here especially against the backdrop of riots across England. I do wish the fringe was even more diverse, and was inclusive for people from lower socio economic backgrounds.”

WHO: Siyani Sheth

WHAT: “Written and produced by a remarkable 18-year-old drama student, this true story delves into deeply personal experiences of depression, anxiety, eating disorders and self-harm, offering a compelling journey of hope and resilience. The play’s moving narrative resonates with teenagers who are battling their own mental health issues or supporting their friends, parents concerned about their children’s well-being, and educators seeking insights into safeguarding students. Set against the backdrop of the growing mental health crisis among teenagers, the writer hopes to create an open dialogue, greater awareness and support for all, with plenty of tears and laughter.”

WHERE: theSpace @ Niddry St – Lower Theatre (Venue 9)

WHEN: 14:20 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

Yes it is my first time in Edinburgh and at the fringe. It’s been a really valuable experience to learn about promoting a show, managing money, sustaining your energy, and looking after your mental health for over a month. It has been awesome to be surrounded by people with similar interest, in a hub of creativity. I have felt safe here especially against the backdrop of riots across England. I do wish the fringe was even more diverse, and was inclusive for people from lower socio economic backgrounds.

What are the big things you’ve learned since 2023 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?

Since doing my first show in East London last year, I have learn to be more assertive as a young female director. It has been great to create work that I am proud of with a diverse, versatile and talented cast that really cares about the message we are shining a light on. Doing it every day has been a lot, we have all had to find time to rest, recharge and have fun!

Tell us about your show.

I wrote the play last year, when I was 17, after my therapist suggested I write down my story. It was a cathartic experience, especially when I got to share it with others and realised I wasn’t alone. I was blown away when so many young people who watched the play told me they had felt seen and so many parents/educators/medical people told me it helped them understand a teenager’s perspective. I am hoping to study English and Drama at university next year and want to build a career writing stories that give a voice to people and topics that are not represented. I have started to write my next play called “intersectional”.

What should your audience see at the festivals after they’ve seen your show?

So Young – a beautiful and fresh take on growing old, dealing with loss and moving on!

Dear Annie I hate you – a creative approach from a courageous young woman overcoming her own fears and the medical system in dealing with her brain aneurysm (a serious subject with plenty of laughs)

Abrasion – an insightful look at the silent suffering of so many young women in dealing with the medical health system, hilariously portrayed.

Dave Ahdoot: ethnically ambiguous – a very funny perspective of having a face that most cultures relate to and consider as their own, and how that means $$$ for the advertising industry

Vir Das – a brilliant Indian comedian that had us in fits of laughter

What happened to love and hope – I haven’t seen it yet but it’s written by a young person of mixed heritage, exploring some similar themes

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“They are talking about mental health and well-being with the authority of those who know of what they speak.”

Editorial Rating: 4 Stars (Outstanding)

The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows lists ‘exulansis’ as “the tendency to give up trying to talk about an experience because people are unable to relate to it – whether through envy or pity or simple foreignness – which allows it to drift away from the rest of your life story, until the memory itself feels out of place, almost mythical, wandering restlessly in the fog, no longer even looking for a place to land.”

Siyani Sheth truly is expelling exulansis proving that in the world of mental health and well-being, the skilled and dexterous pen can be as mighty as the surgeon’s scalpel. Every member of the cast has experienced mental illness personally or through loved ones. They have come together to help share Siyani’s story and amplify the messages contained in her gigantically human-scale drama featuring depression, anxiety, eating disorders and self-harm. There is light at the end of the tunnel, sometimes it takes more than one pair of eyes to see it.

This is a game of two halves. First, there is Siyani persona personalmente, her contemporary self navigating the past and present, trying to imagine a future less burdened by diminished bandwidth, noisy static, and deafening dead air. Second, there is Zahira Kayrooz as her younger self. Kayrooz is one to watch and is extremely watchable as she glides, trips and stumbles on a journey into places no parent would want their child to go. There is acting and there is being. Kayrooz is a being.. be-er… beingor…? She inhabits the role with daring and deliberation. Her choices are bold and courageous. Where the script hangs heavy or where the timeline is slightly unclear is Kayrooz’s gravity which stops it all spinning off into space.

Amanda Coetzer as the super-helpful teacher and as the super-unhelpful psychiatrist delivers a double whammy of light and dark. A good character actor can make you absolutely love or resolutely loathe the onstage creature they inhabit. It is a great artistic achievement to do both in the same hour of Fringe stage traffic. Similarly, Sofía De Yermo as the friend on the outside as well as the friend from the inside presents two very different personalities vital to the fizz and pop of this often funny piece.⁠ Matthew Warburton and James Anite deliver a more mixed bag of personalities not all of which achieve the proud heights of Warburton and Kayrooz’s most memorable scene together.

Dan! Why are you using surnames for the actors but the writer’s first name? Because there is another Sheth on stage and he is doing something ultra-extraordinary. ⁠Mitesh Sheth is playing himself, his daughter’s father, the link between the play’s two halves of now and then. ⁠Mitesh might not have been at the eye of the storm as Siyani was, but he had a view and a role as close as makes no odds. The power of this piece, the importance of this peace is as living testimony that survival is possible and that hope is not a myth.

We saw a baby giraffe learning to walk. Soon this piece will learn to stride. This herd of graceful, diverse, and farseeing talent deserves a special place in the wild landscape of EdFringe24. This is a company doing something very special indeed. They are talking about mental health and well-being with the authority of those who know of what they speak. As importantly (actually… no this is a theatre festival) MORE importantly they know HOW to say what needs to be said so that it can be heard loud and proud by all.

Get your ties up at the back coats on and go see this!