Is It Really Possible To Feel Someone Else's Pain?

Pain is not often a straightforward sensation. From a headache to a heartbreak, the human language is generally able to convey a sense of what it feels like. But when there are no words to describe, how does one articulate their pain? Written by Chris Thorpe, the Shape of Pain is based on director Rachel Bagshaw's relationship with chronic pain and articulates the sensations she feels through sound, lighting and video.

The thought-provoking one-woman show is performed by British actor Hannah McPake, who immerses the audience in empathy using Thorpe's poetic and resonant dialogue, interweaved with abstract and moving on stage displays. From scientific explanations to mediations on the new love in her life, everything McPake says is projected onto screens behind her. Perception, both emotional and physical, is explored with nuance and tenderness.