Billed as “60 minutes of quirky laughs and tears that opens up important conversations” Chameleon delivered exactly that. A vulnerable and honest performance peppered with comic relief, Chameleon is a raw exploration of mental health.

The show combines spoken and lyrical poetry, with Karen Lee Roberts sharing some of her most vulnerable moments through song and monologue. Chameleon is a cabaret style show where jazz club meets therapy. The show’s eclectic range of tone and mixture of artistic medium serves not only to entertain its audience, providing something for everyone, but as a potent and sometimes devastating portrait of the blurry and elusive grey area that is our cultural understanding of mental health.

Chameleon addresses the difficulties and occasional comedies of mental health, exploring the conflicting reality of medication, the isolating nature of illness and the misconceptions held even by those in the mental health care machine. Karen Lee Roberts perfectly toes the line of confronting and hilarious, accompanied by Mr Happy (Dr Jeff Usher) on keys and quick quips.

By including my favourite kind of audience participation (low key and non-confrontational, a Ready Steady Cook situation, if you will) the show itself shifts and adapts with its environment, as its namesake suggests. More importantly, the metaphor of the chameleon perfectly reframes the conception of mental health as an ever evolving beast, reminding us that we are always growing, transforming, adapting.

I immediately felt comfortable in the intimate space, the perfect location for such a raw and personal performance. I was moved by how open and sincere Karen was about her experiences and after the show my friends and I all agreed that we were deeply touched.

Karen explores and exposes the realities of mental illness discussing personal and sometimes painful experiences with endearing sincerity. Chameleon is an important work for anyone to witness, offering insight, relatability and a welcome laugh. We need more shows like this.