Daydreamer | The Travelling Rose Theatre
Image: Cinnamon Smith
After a sold out opening night, I was super keen to watch the second and final performance of Daydreamer, which was held in the intimate performance space of Queensland Theatre’s Diane Cilento Studio.
Clad in black, three performers (The Chorus / JJ Jones, Alexandra Macdonald and Harry Witherall) enter the space dragging Caleb Hockings (The Narrator). The foursome is tethered by three balls of red rope which is held firmly by each performer in the ensemble. These ropes, in various stages of being unravelled, are firmly attached to Hockings. The trio ensemble take up their positions under lights that are dimmed. Meanwhile Hockings, outfitted casually in contrasting light-coloured cargo pants and shirt, takes his place on the chair that is strategically placed in the middle of this group. This front and centre placement under the opposing glare of a single spotlight lends an air of vulnerability to Hocking's onstage persona.
The energy in the room immediately shifts exacerbated by the overall solemnity of the group.
As the script painfully unfolds, The Narrator conveys his deeply personal story about his lived experiences with epilepsy through a series of emotionally fueled and expertly delivered monologues. His credible ruminations on death, bullying, neglect, drowning, medications, treatment, religious exorcism, loss of control are delivered with stoicism and intensity as he struggles to come to terms with his disability.
Throughout the gripping sixty minute performance, The Narrator is bound to either one or more of The Chorus who manipulate the red rope according to the accompanying storytelling and movement work of the production. The Chorus also swaps who holds the rope and the manner in which they grasp this inescapable and restrictive tether — sometimes very tightly, sometimes very loosely to underpin the action but always, always firmly attached. This was no mean feat when changing positions and trying not to get snagged in the process!
That red rope which oozes symbolism is such a powerful fixture of Daydreamer — its dominant presence suitably convinced this lover of theatre of the vice-like, confining, constrictive, debilitating aspects of the seizures that come with his epilepsy. Moreover, the fact that it can strike anywhere, at any time without warning rendering the person incoherent and confused!
Image: Cinnamon Smith
To emphasise how quickly and easily a seizure can be triggered, The Narrator reflects fondly on a school trip. Narrated with excitement, he describes his joyful interaction with fairy penguins which soon turns to disappointment when his brief joy is hijacked by yet another unwanted seizure. A fairy penguin miraculously comes to his rescue by tapping on the glass to alert the teachers — just one of the many riveting and convincing scenes in this prized theatre performance!
During his electrifying performance, The Narrator refers to his seizures as ‘daydreams’ because of his mother’s explanation. She described a seizure as ‘dreaming’ or ‘going on a vacation’. In retrospect, a bittersweet explanation from a protective mother to her beloved son.
Hocking's potent, persuasive performance is commendable. His slick delivery of monologues kept the momentum going while his body language exuded visceral pain during the crippling effects of a seizure.
The Chorus act out The Narrator’s often life-threatening situations all the while embodying a variety of roles — parents, friends, teachers, nurses, doctors — performed in praiseworthy characterisation and emotive role playing. The Chorus sometimes play their roles simultaneously and in time with the delivery of The Narrator’s monologues while others are acted out embodying individual characters.
To add fuel to the already blistering subject matter unravelling on the stage, religious rhetoric is thrown into the midst as yet another solution to try to combat The Narrator’s invasive disability. One of The Chorus, a ‘priest’, reads a section from the Bible in the hope that Jesus will exorcise this child of his epilepsy and cleanse him from the ‘dumb spirit’.
Nothing but respect and admiration for Jones, Macdonald and Witherall for their expertise in remembering not only their numerous lines but their variety of characters, each one so distinctly different from the other.
Harri Thorne’s austere set design contrasted starkly against the studio’s black painted walls, ceiling and floor — a white chair, stuffed toys arranged haphazardly, red barrier/safety mesh — ensuring focus first and foremost on the striking set-up.
Combined with Doug Carr’s staccato, original soundscape, Jon Whitehead's lighting underscores the ebbs and flows, the darkness, the hopelessness, the brutal reality of epilepsy.
How does one live with epilepsy?
Can it be prevented?
How does one deal with the symptoms?
Director / scriptwriter, India Rose has assembled a stellar cast to deliver her powerful autobiographical unflinching script that addresses what it means to live with this unseen disability. All in a mere sixty minutes.
According to Rose “Daydreamer is a love letter to those who feel unheard and isolated”.
Judging by what unfolded on that stage, Rose’s call to actionis deafening. “We will be seen. We will be heard.”
Daydreamer played at Diane Cilento Studio, Queensland Theatre from 23-24 September 2025 as part of the 2025 Undercover Artist Festival.
Image: Cinnamon Smith
