Review by Katrina Couzens of Self-Care Cafe presented by Lynda McCauley
With my low tolerance for bullshit, vaguely antisocial tendencies, general dislike of wellness culture, and strong belief that a show at the Anywhere Festival should be… well… a show, I was primed to dislike Lynda’s Self-Care Cafe. Or at least find it incredibly awkward. So I was surprised when I came away from what was essentially a facilitated coffee session discussing self care with strangers feeling relaxed and, dare I say it, a little rejuvenated. I don’t even like coffee.
I should probably disclose, my entire process for choosing shows to review is based on how easily I can get to them, and whether the opening show clashes with something else in my calendar. I didn’t come looking for a fight or anything like that. I just came.
Lynda clearly takes her role as facilitator very seriously, and most of her preparations for the Self-Care Cafe are invisible until you pay attention. The location, Brew Moon Cafe, a kiosk attached to a set of sports fields, seems like a random choice. Then you realise that Lynda’s table is surrounded by greenery and flocks of galahs, and that its position at the top of the hill gives a view over the hustle and bustle of the sports fields, letting you feel part of the world without feeling swamped by it.
The group is small and intimate, but there’s space and permission to spread out. Rugs and cushions physically enlarge the space, and paper and coloured pens do the same emotionally. I took the invitation and sprawled out on the large picnic blanket, scribbling doodles and listening to the voices of the others wafting across the grass. My autistic arse felt included but unpressured, and I couldn’t help but wonder at the simplicity of such a space, and why in “real life” it can feel so hard to create something like it.
The conversation itself felt vague and handwavey for the most part, full of metaphors and abstract frameworks that I felt needed more unpacking. When it did wander occasionally into the concrete realms of people’s actual experiences and mechanisms for moving through life’s challenges, it was more interesting. But the vulnerability required to sustain conversation about grounded, personal experience is hard to cultivate among strangers in such a short time, and I don’t think Lynda has quite cracked that aspect of Self-Care Cafe just yet.
Though deep conversation is not really the point of Self-Care Cafe. Rather, the value is in carving out time to just be, in a space that promotes connection without forcing it. And yes, there might be nothing stopping you from creating that simple, low pressure space for yourself and your loved ones. But when was the last time you did?
Katrina, thanks so much for this review.
You tuned into exactly what Self-Care Cafe is for — creating a shared space for slowing down, connecting with ourselves, each other and our surrounds, and remembering there is space and time to care.
I especially loved your reflections on the environment, spaciousness, and feeling “part of the world without feeling swamped by it.” That’s very much at the heart of what I was hoping to create.
Loved having you there.