KNOT HEART - Almeida Theatre

Dr Owen Bowden-Jones talking to Michael Attenborough and Lisa Dillon in rehearsalPhoto: Matt Humphreyaddicted to any other drugs is pretty low. Now of course loads of people smoke nicotine but don’t useany other substances, so I’m not saying it’s causal – that if you smoke you will automatically useother drugs – but the only actual evidence we have around gateway drugs is for nicotine. I think theimportant thing to think about with drugs is that people talk about ‘drugs’ as one thing, but actuallydrugs are all very different and create very different effects. So people who use cocaine use it to havea good time, to party, to get high; but heroin is a depressant, like alcohol. So when Lucy’s usingheroin, she’s using it to dampen herself, dampen her feelings and emotions, and sedate herself,emotionally.AP: Do you think the relationship with her mother has anything to do with her substance abuse?Dr OBJ: I think one of the really interesting aspects of this play is the relationship between Lucy andher mother. Although we talked about addiction and the effects of that on Lucy, in a way her addictionis the vehicle through which we see in Lucy and, to some extent, her mother, trying to understandtheir relationship. And the relationship begins as a pretty corrosive process for both of them, anddestructive and dependent. That’s illustrated very well in some of the scenes where Lucy’s mothercomes to pick her up from the rehab and there’s this incredible tension between Lucy trying to decidebetween staying in treatment and going back to this relationship with her mother, which then leads towhat she chooses and then leads to her relapse. However, the optimistic thing about the play is thatthrough this process of understanding her addiction, Lucy begins to understand the relationship withher mother and understand just how destructive and co-dependent that relationship is. I think thatgives a real richness to the play. And whilst the play is of course around addiction, it is as much abouthow mother and daughter find new ways to understand each other and relate to each other.AP: Do you think the play addresses the stereotypes around drug use?Dr OBJ: One of the ways in which the play is very successful is that it challenges our stereotypesaround drug use. The sort of stereotype of heroin addiction is injecting at a bus shelter – it’sTrainspotting, and it’s social deprivation associated with injecting drug use. I think one of the ways theplay is successful is that it challenges that stereotype, it shows us that addiction to substances issomething that is pervasive across society, it’s not just a particular group that suffer with it. Lucy is agood example of someone who has fallen into her addiction, despite having a pretty good start in life,Interview with PsychiatristResource Pack: The Knot of the Heart 40