From script to stage, I Have No Idea puts ADHD stories in spotlight

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Nathan Coppens has always told stories on his own terms. So in his early 30s, when Coppens was diagnosed with ADHD, it came as a surprise, a relief — and a creative inspiration.

“When I was exploring my own ADHD, I thought ‘There’s a story here,’” said Coppens. “The more I learn, the more people I talk to, the more I learn about other people having these experiences.”

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It formed the basis of Coppens’ debut play, I Have No Idea, which runs until Sunday at The Refinery in Saskatoon.

According to recent studies, about five per cent of Canadian adults — or, more than Saskatchewan’s entire population — have ADHD.

For people who have lived with undiagnosed ADHD — often believing that their ways of thinking, acting and talking, or their struggles with memory, time management, emotional regulation and organization were something ‘everybody deals with,’ or personal character flaws they needed overcome — these can feel like profoundly isolating experiences.

In his play, Coppens puts these stories in the spotlight, in the hope that other people might see reflections of themselves.

“We had kids as young as nine or 10 attend the first run (of this show),” Coppens said. “Kids came and got something out of it. And teens came; we had teens that came multiple times. And some of them are undiagnosed, or they’re struggling.”

Working with a majority-ADHD cast and creative team bringing the play to life, director and dramaturg Traci Foster said I Have No Idea represents an exciting forefront in disability- and neurodiversity-centred theatre.

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“We chose to go for a little bit of a different structure of this play, and we are super happy with that,” Foster said.

For actor Kristel Harder, performing opposite Coppens, this play has never been about ‘acting like you have ADHD.’ Instead, it asks for ‘acting, with ADHD.’

For Harder, that difference has been “freeing” and creatively exhilarating.

“It has been lovely to work on a show that is not only about ADHD, but has ADHD woven into the structure of it,” said Harder. “When I first read the play, I was struck by how not-anxious I felt.”

Almost until the very last minute before I Have No Idea opened in Saskatoon, Coppens was still working on the script. With so many stories to work with, Coppens was struggling to sum up exactly what he wanted to say — the grief and frustration of so many people who have struggled alone; anger at the silence and stigma; the peace and clarity that comes from finding community and understanding; a rallying cry for the celebration of full and thriving ADHD lives.

As he prepared to bring the play to Saskatoon, Coppens was also reflecting on the ways his distinctively interwoven, interconnected way of telling these stories — on stage, just like in life — might help new audiences feel at home in the theatre.

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“If you’re only making the standard play, then you’re only getting the audiences that already come out to see all those plays,” Coppens said. “So if we’re struggling to get audiences into theatres, why don’t we make stuff that attracts the people who feel like they don’t belong there?”

After these performances, Coppens knows his work on the play is not done. He hopes other theatre groups will “take it and run with it,” and he’s eager to take it on tour, inviting as many people as possible to learn about ADHD, disability and neurodivergence — and maybe discover something new about themselves, too, he says.

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