In Conversation with Heath Netherton about 'Definitely Louise'

Tell us about ‘Definitely Louise’

Definitely Louise is an (almost) one-woman show which follows a character who is discussing life and ranting about everything from pop culture to diets to friends and essentially her opinion that most people are "f****** idiots". The character is undiagnosed neurodiverse which helps to account for a lot of her confusion in navigating the world and importantly the fact that she doesn't realise she's 'different' feeds into her anger and hurt.

What inspired the creation of ‘Definitely Louise’?

I wrote the play in 2017 originally and went on to perform it at Brighton and Edinburgh Fringe successfully. At the time, it developed as a character who, as a young woman in the modern age, was struggling to know her place in the world and understand what to do between the conflicting ideas we're often confronted with. Since then, I have been going through the process of being diagnosed with ASD and it's become clear that that is what the play is actually about. Unbeknownst to me I wrote a neurodiverse character struggling with the world and not knowing why, and armed with the new information I have now, I see the lack of diagnosis is actually the cause for her confusion, so it's been a bit of a rollercoaster!

What can people expect from ‘Definitely Louise’?

I think they can expect at it's core, a dark comedic show. That's what it always was. She's funny and horrible but in essence, human and fragile. It's not about neurodiversity per se, but I hope that anyone who has experienced late diagnosis will relate to her and I think anyone who's a bit unsure of the world, which is everyone, will as well. It's not a lecture on neurodiversity but I hope that it gives an insight into some of the damage that can be done when people aren't diagnosed, where in the absence of the truth you can sometimes diagnose yourself with a myriad of unfavourable personality traits instead.

Where, when & how do we book?

It's all online on the Alma Theatre's website - https://www.tickettailor.com/events/almatheatrecompany/871645

I have the link on all my socials Instagram: @hethneth Tiktok: @hethneth

and my colleague (who also appears in the show for brief periods) @c_a_sherwood

Alma are also running 30% off at the moment across a bunch of shows in June and July!