Mental health takes the spotlight in Fringe show

A comedy show about mental health is hoping to make an impact at the Nelson Fringe Festival.

American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, podcaster, and mental health advocate Tristan Miller is bringing their show ‘Manic Impressive’ to the Refinery ArtSpace this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights.

A Mid-Western by birth, Tristan has been living in New York for the past 10 years pursuing acting and comedy.

In Manic Impressive, Tristan offers up rapid-fire observations about both their own and mental health in general and hopes to educate, enlighten, entertain, and create empathy for those who live with mental illness.

“It’s about my experience with bipolar disorder … it’s a bit silly, surreal, and weird in places but it’s trying to make light of a difficult situation,” he says.

The Nelson Fringe Festival started last week with a line-up of 40 shows over 10 days across three different venues.

Theatre, comedy, dance, improvisation, music, kids’ shows, and workshops have all been part of the festival.

A range of nternational acts have been welcomed back this year, alongside plenty of homegrown talent.

Festival director Giles Burton says the feedback on the festival so far has been nothing but positive.

“We are well on our way to hitting our target for the Fringe overall. Quite a few things have sold out, but more importantly, the audiences seem to be loving the shows.”

Giles says the festival aims to offer people a chance to see a wide range of shows.

“So that means we welcome some more niche shows that we know are going to sell less tickets - but that is part of the point, to allow a chance for these shows to be seen in Nelson,” he says.

“Some are pure joy and entertainment, others are more challenging, and people seem to love that variety.”

After struggling through Covid-19-caused cancellations the past few years, Giles says this year feels like a “real resurgence” for both audiences and performers.

“People seem much more eager to be out and about - though we appreciate that even at $15 a lot of people are struggling to afford tickets,” he says.

“It has been hard for performers to create work over the last few years, not knowing if there will be a chance to present it. This year artists are coming back with new work and there seems to be an excitement and buzz about bringing back live performance.”

Giles says there are still some great shows to come this week, including Tristan’s Manic Impressive.

“Tristan is impressive and they are also manic. Think Robin Williams with impressions. High energy quick fire and definitely from New York.”

Manic Impressive is on at the Refinery ArtSpace on Thursday 30 and Friday 31 March, and Saturday 1 April at 7.35pm. For more information on all shows and to buy tickets head over to the Nelson Fringe Festival website.