It’s a familiar story: a woman undergoes a public breakdown, is hounded by the media and scrutinised in public debate. She becomes a cautionary tale, one more example in a culture that spans both time and type of celebrity, from Golden Age Hollywood stars to musicians, actresses and reality TV personalities. Whoever she is, whenever she lives, a woman’s crisis is something the media likes to feed on.  

Growing up in the 90s, this pattern was something dance-theatre creator Tess Letham became acutely aware of, as she watched women like Paris Hilton and Whitney Houston (and later Britney Spears and Amy Winehouse), fragmenting in the spotlight’s glare. ‘They were essentially ripped apart by the media,’ Letham says. ‘I’ve been doing a lot of research on different female celebrities. Things have potentially improved in the world for women but I still think in celebrity culture there’s so much constant pressure and constant attack on females, and this idea that they all have to be perfect, and if they step out of line at all there’s uproar.’

It was this ugly cultural touchstone that provided the inspiration for Letham’s latest show, a solo piece entitled What Ever Happened To Harmony Banks?. Letham originally created the character of Banks (‘a commercialised love and wellbeing kind of guru’) for her 2022 show Remedy For Memory, which explored celebrity womanhood. But after the run ended, she felt there was unfinished business with Banks. ‘There was this need or desire to take that character further. I really wanted to build a longer timeline for her, where she’s moved on from the commercial wellbeing industry.’

Letham began watching documentaries and biopics delving into the stories of female celebrity breakdowns, and it occurred to her that while the issue had been covered in film and other forms, exploring it through dance-theatre could bring something new to the discussion. ‘In dance, you can represent things in physical ways that people can experience, rather than be told,’ she says. The show will be a mixture of text and movement, but dance with its focus on the body can, says Letham, communicate something words can’t. ‘I think there’s this power in dance and physicality that you can really share in a very visceral way. Looking at celebrity culture, particularly focusing on women’s bodies, there’s a lot within it that I think can be expressed through dance.’

Letham’s past work has featured both light and shade, surrealism and tragi-comedy, a ‘yin and yang,’ she says, which she uses to ‘amplify the audience’s experience, rather than going in super dark all the time.’ She also uses her audience as a guide to help work evolve, and in that sense the Fringe is the perfect stage. ‘It feels like a very playful platform to showcase work. No two shows will be the same. So it’s always a bit of a wild ride. I’m looking forward to having this character to allow me to go much further than I would by myself.’

What Ever Happened To Harmony Banks?, Assembly Dance Base, Tuesday 5–Sunday 10 August, 6.40pm.