Joshua Walters’ Madhouse Rhythm

The Marsh Berkeley is proud to present Joshua Walters’ Madhouse Rhythm , an autobiographical collage based on one man’s experience with madness. A variety of styles, including hip hop theater, spoken word and beatbox infuse this story, told with humor, unpredictable antics and intimate reflection. Join Joshua as he takes you inside the mind of a man captured in the throes of a psychotic breakdown; forced to make sense of being locked away in a madhouse.

For 10 Years (Feb. 22nd, 2001-Feb. 22nd, 2011) Joshua Walters had been a celebrated “mad one,” both as performing artist and as a mental health educator. Feb. 22nd, 2001 was the date on which he discovered his mad side, clinically known as Bipolar Disorder. Madhouse Rhythm is the story of someone who has flipped “inflicted” into “gifted,” and coined “mental illness” into… “mental skillness.” This show uses humor to reframe madness as a positive.

Joshua Walters is an internationally acclaimed comedian, poet, educator and performer, whose work has appeared on ABC, MTV2, PBS and NPR. Theater performer for over a decade, Walters incorporates elements of spoken word and beatbox into his shows, in a mash-up of comedy, intimate reflection and unpredictable antics. In the last two years, Walters has performed at theaters and universities throughout North America, Europe and the Middle East.