“TOTAL MAGIC”
- THE ATLANTIC
Scroll down to view creative support material
Photos in this support material are from the one-night-only experimental developmental presentation of No Feeling Is Final – Live, commissioned by RMIT for the finale of The Big Anxiety Festival 2022, and created bespoke for a 600-seat, sold-out crowd at The Capitol Theatre in Melbourne.
With support from City of Melbourne and Science Gallery Melbourne, this next stage of the project will see the development of a new, 60-minute version of the show, ready to present in new contexts and tour in the future.
“A GROUNDBREAKING PERFORMANCE MEMOIR”
- PAULA TOAL
RMIT HEAD OF CULTURE
“Mental health explored like never before”
- The Financial Times
NO FEELING IS FINAL
CREATIVE RATIONALE
As I packed my bag for the psychiatric hospital, I was faced with a dilemma: should I pack my vibrator?
If you're admitting yourself because you’re suicidal, surely you should pack things that bring you joy? On the other hand, I was sure my bag was going to be searched.
Embarrassment wasn't the issue; I was worried that packing a vibrator would make them think “Well, she can't be that fucked up.” Or maybe they'd make a note: “Brought vibrator to hospital. This chick is a whole other level of crazy.”
No Feeling Is Final is an experimental performance memoir designed as a deeply intimate and unprecedented insight into the lived experience of chronic suicidality. Featuring years of Honor’s own audio diaries, it takes us inside the psychiatric hospital, into the world of 3am panic attacks and suicide call back services, but never without a wink and a nod to the dark humour of these places.
This live theatre show, based on the critically-acclaimed ABC podcast series of the same name, is a genre-busting, interdisciplinary mash of music, theatre, lighting design, video and sound design, creating a distinct theatrical language where multiple realities collide: live performance weaves through years of archived audio diaries, a faux stand-up routine about psych hospital dissolves into raw confession, a pop banger about medication efficacy transforms into voyeuristic phone calls between friends searching for answers.
Think This Is Going To Hurt from the other side of the nurse’s station, with the gut-punching magical realism of Maid and the self-deprecating, quick-cut jokes of Bo Burnham’s Inside. This show will flip your understanding of what we think mental illness actually is, and what “help” is and how to find it.
“HONOR HAS AGAIN PUSHED THE ENVELOPE TO MAKE SOMETHING TRULY SPECIAL”
- JOEL WERNER
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
ABC AUDIO STUDIOS
“DARKLY FUNNY”
- THE NEW YORK TIMES
BUILDING ON CREATIVE EXCELLENCE
INTERNATIONAL CRITICAL ACCLAIM FOR THE ORIGINAL PODCAST SERIES
“Mental health explored like never before” - The Financial Times
“Something rare” - TIME Magazine
“Darkly funny” - The New York Times
“Something extraordinary” - The Atlantic
“Impressive, bruising and tender storytelling” - Benjamin Law
Named on “best podcast of the year” lists by The Atlantic, New York Times, TIME, and The Financial Times
Winner: International Third Coast Director’s Choice Award, widely regarded as the “Oscars for Podcasts”
PLAY THE ORIGINAL PODCAST TRAILER
6mins
Click the image to open the player
2022 EXPERIMENTAL DEVELOPMENT SHOWING:
PROVEN LIVE POTENTIAL
Sold-out 600-seat venue (The Capitol)
Only sold-out event at The Big Anxiety Festival 2022
First full house at The Capitol Theatre since the pandemic
Over 650+ bespoke lighting, video, and audio cues
Backed by City of Melbourne, RMIT, and The Big Anxiety Festival
2026 PRESENTATION AT SCIENCE GALLERY MELBOURNE
With in-kind support from Science Gallery Melbourne, No Feeling Is Final – Live will undertake a two-month creative development, including a two-week residency at Science Gallery in early 2026, culminating in a free public showing at the Science Gallery Theatre.
This development builds on previous success and creates a more flexible version ready for national presentation in black box and non-traditional venues. The presentation will be part of Science Gallery Melbourne’s public program.
STRONG INDUSTRY ENDORSEMENT FOR LIVE VERSION
“No Feeling is Final is beyond brave and a performance WA audiences deserve to experience."
- WA Museum Boola Bardip
"I was transfixed by her incredible performance… I hope this new version will be able to be seen by many more Australians who need it."
- Prof Patrick McGorry, Australian of the Year and Mental Health Advocate
"A groundbreaking performance memoir… welcoming The Capitol’s first sold-out audience since the pandemic”
- Paula Toal, Head of RMIT Culture
“The show was a testament to not only her incredible skills as a creator with a truly visionary approach, but to the entire creative team”
- Jacinta Di Mase, Literary Agent to Clementine Ford, Tracey Spicer, Jane Caro
“I WAS TRANSFIXED BY HER INCREDIBLE PERFORMANCE… SHE IS A UNIQUE CREATIVE VOICE, SPEAKING TO THE VERY REAL HUMAN FALL-OUT OF A BROKEN SYSTEM…NOT JUST WITH BITING WIT, BUT REFRESHING HUMOUR, HONESTY AND INSIGHT”
- Prof Patrick McGorry
Australian of the Year and Mental Health Advocate
“Impressive, tender and bruising storytelling”
- Benjamin Law
CREATIVE TEAM
Scroll down to view all artist bios and CVs
HONOR EASTLY
CREATIVE LEAD
Honor Eastly is a multidisciplinary Australian artist, writer, podcaster, and professional feeler of feelings. Her creative work has been described as “darkly funny” (by The New York Times) “total magic” (by The Atlantic), and “something rare” (TIME).
In 2021 she was named the winner of the Australian Mental Heath Prize, Australia’s top mental health award, for her creative and advocacy work.
She has amassed over one million downloads and numerous awards for her podcasts and writing. She won the Third Coast Director’s Choice award for her podcast No Feeling Is Final, widely considered as the ‘Oscars of Podcasting’.
She is the co-founder of The Big Feels Club, a peer led mental health resource that has reached over one million people.
Eastly’s work has been shown at The National Gallery of Victoria, The Gallery of NSW, the Perth Institute of Contemporary Art, MOD. Gallery, Science Gallery Melbourne and at sold out shows at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
www.honoreastly.com
Selected CV can be viewed here.
AHMARNYA PRICE - SCRIPT CONSULTANT / DRAMATURG
For over two decades Ahmarnya has exhibited and performed locally and internationally. Her first multi-disciplinary solo performance RUMPUS debuted at Footscray Community Arts Centre in 2016 as part of the Festival of Live Art. Since 2015 Ahmarnya has been a teaching artist at St Martins Youth Arts. From 2019 to 2020 she was Acting Artistic Associate at Back to Back Theatre, directing/ co-writing the animation series FIRST RESPONDERS (currently on ABC-iView). She began developing THE SPLENDID ANOMALY at Arts House in 2018, traveling to Battersea Arts Centre and The University of Sussex/ACCA to undertake research residencies in 2019. In 2021 Ahmarnya performed her short solo show RIDE ON TIME at La Mama Theatre’s War-Rak Festival. In 2023 she completed a Masters of Theatre (Writing) at VCA/Melbourne University. THE SPLENDID ANOMALY premiered at Arts House in August 2024 and was nominated for three Green Room awards.
CV can be viewed here.
ESTABLISHED THEATRE DIRECTOR - TBC
Creative Victoria and Creative Australia funding will enable Honor and her creative team to work with an experienced theatre director for this creative development project. Currently in negotiations, to be confirmed by August 2025.
ROB CURULLI
CREATIVE TECHNOLOGIST
Rob Curulli is a multidisciplinary creative technologist with an interest in sound, interactivity and process-based audiovisual work.
He worked with Honor to create and program the 650+ bespoke lighting, film and sound cues for the developmental presentation to a sold-out crowd of No Feeling Is Final Live show, made especially for The Capitol Theatre.
Recent work includes lighting design for Capitol Theatre's ceiling light system for Capitol Commissions and other RMIT events; microcontroller programming using LEDs and portable sound devices for Troy Innocent's Future Play Lab, developing creative technology solutions for public art installations; and music composition for the APHIDS production OH DEER!, which premiered at RISING festival 2023.
Rob has been performing and releasing music under a number of pseudonyms for over twenty years in a wide variety of genres, spanning ambient, avant-garde electronics, chiptune/retrotech, progressive metal, and others. Performance history includes appearances at Dark Mofo, Square Sounds Festival (Melbourne and Tokyo), and support/co-billing with artists such as Sunn O))), Clark, and Soichi Terada.
NIKKI CASTLE
FILMMAKER
Nikki Castle is a mid-career Melbourne-based director, with two broadcast credits on New Zealand television.
She worked with Honor to create the filmed-sequences for the No Feeling Is Final Live show.
Her short documentary film, Madness Made Me, found viral success and screened at Big Sky Documentary Film Festival and New Zealand International Film Festival.
Nikki is building on over ten years as a short and long-form offline editor and story producer, with credits on Maori TV, Food TV Canada, Channel Seven Australia, ABC and SBS.
She has also self-produced and directed countless short documentaries across mental health and social welfare not-for-profits and NGO's. Clients include Vic Gov, Austin Health, Mind Australia and New Zealand's largest philanthropic trust, Foundation North.
GRAHAM PANTHER
MENTAL HEALTH ADVOCATE AND WRITER
Graham Panther is a mental health whizz who has set up award-winning, cutting edge services in New Zealand and Australia. He brings a wealth of expertise from the sector, as well as his own experience of profound crisis and distress.
In 2017, with Honor Eastly he set up The Big Feels Club, a peer-led, global peer support community.
Their work has been featured in the New York Times, The Atlantic, and TIME, as well as The Age and the Herald Sun. Since launching on a shoe-string, we’ve had well over a million downloads of their podcasts and articles, and countless messages from club members telling us that finding Big Feels was the first time they’ve felt truly understood in their mental health.
PRODUCTION SUPPORT TEAM
FRASER ORFORD
INDEPENDENT THEATRE PRODUCER
Fraser has spent the past decade working across the commercial theatre sector in Australia, southeast Asia, Saudi Arabia, the UK, and most recently central & northern Africa and Europe.
He has held roles as Ambassador Theatre Group, GWB Entertainment, Michael Cassel Group, Opera Australia, The Everywhere Group and the National Theatre. His extensive experience spans theatre, musical theatre, immersive experiences and public art.
Notable theatre credits include Disney’s The Lion King, 1984, An American in Paris and People, Places & Things. Immersive productions have included Peter Rabbit’s Easter Adventure, Paddington’s Lo-Commotion, Peaky Blinders: The Rise, The Traitors: Live Experience, Peppa Pig’s Surprise Party and Come Alive! The Greatest Showman Circus Spectacular.
Fraser is currently General Manager of THE HERDS (www.theherds.org)
DR TIM SHARP (AKA DR HAPPY)
MENTAL HEALTH CONSULTANT
Dr. Tim Sharp (PhD) is one of Australia's leaders in Positive Psychology and mental health advocacy. With three degrees in psychology and extensive experience as both clinician and coach, he founded The Happiness Institute, Australia's first organization devoted to enhancing happiness in individuals and organizations.
He is a best-selling author of multiple books on mental health and wellbeing and will provide mental health consultation and script review during the creative development, ensuring both artistic integrity and psychological safety.
www.drhappy.com.au
