We sat down for a quick chat with the emerging writer and director Beryl Flynn whose play, The Happy Minds Clinic, comes to Greenwich Theatre for three performances on 16, 17 and 18 September.
- The Happy Minds Clinic begins with the deliciously unsettling idea that the therapists may be more dysfunctional than their clients. What first inspired this premise?
There is a lot of anecdotal evidence of situations where the boundaries between figures of authority and vulnerable people become blurred, and I thought it would be interesting and fun to explore that dynamic within a therapy clinic.
Film stars, for example, can find themselves surrounded by people who have a financial interest in maintaining a relationship with them, whether they genuinely care about them or not. That can make it difficult to know who is looking after your best interests.
I began to wonder what would happen if you put that kind of vulnerability into the hands of therapists who have their own obsessions, insecurities and agendas. The idea that the people paid to protect and understand their clients might be exploiting those vulnerabilities themselves became the starting point for The Happy Minds Clinic.
- The play blends dark comedy, psychological drama and workplace satire. How did you find the balance between making audiences laugh and taking the mental-health setting seriously?
Mental health is not taken seriously in the play. The clinic owner spotted a gap in the market. The high price tag and clever marketing reassure an extremely wealthy clientele that this is a safe space designed specifically for people like them.
The therapists manipulate their clients and each other while continuing to pretend that they are behaving professionally.
That contradiction is where much of the comedy comes from. The darker side comes from watching how easily the language of therapy can be used to disguise selfishness, exploitation and manipulation.
And because I like comedy with a darker edge, I wanted the audience to be able to laugh at these characters while gradually realising just how disturbing their behaviour is.
- The clinic places profit and client retention above patient wellbeing. What did you want the play to say about the commercialisation of therapy and emotional vulnerability?
I also wanted to explore the darker side of a private clinic where money, reputation and keeping clients happy can become more important than genuine wellbeing. That created the delicious contradiction at the heart of the play you mention: the people being paid to understand human behaviour are spectacularly bad at understanding themselves.
- Misandry is a central theme, deliberately reversing the misogyny women have historically experienced in the workplace. What did this reversal allow you to explore about power, resentment and gender?
The reversal allowed me to explore what happens when the power dynamic is completely turned on its head. The man has nowhere to turn. He is surrounded by women who operate almost like a hive mind because there are no repercussions, no meaningful checks and balances, and therefore no reason for them to change their behaviour.
Our two male cast members have been genuinely astonished by some of the discussions around where these ideas came from. Their reactions have opened conversations about how differently the same behaviour can be perceived depending on who is doing it — and who has the power.
- As both writer and director, did rehearsals change your understanding of any of the characters—or lead you to revise moments you had originally written differently?
I leaned into the characters more as I determined what body language fitted the words. It was less about changing what I had written and more about discovering another layer to the characters. Sometimes a look, a pause or a particular movement could say far more than another line of dialogue.
- You are staging the production independently, without the backing of a major company. What have been the greatest creative freedoms and challenges of bringing the play to the stage on your own terms?
The greatest challenges are mainly financial. Rehearsal space is expensive, and there are always costs attached to putting on a production. Independent actors also must balance their paid work with finding time to rehearse, which can make scheduling difficult. Travel is another significant expense.
The greatest creative freedom is being able to create and shape the story exactly as I see it in my mind. I can choose the people I want to collaborate with to bring my stories to life.