“A rare blend of theatre and theory that is surprisingly easy to digest. It is imaginative and insightful... a wonderfully told story!”
“The play was incredible. From the minute the music began I was transported to a hospital: I was an observer in a doctor’s office, the ER and a hospital hallway. Julie eloquently and powerfully captured the experiences of so many patients and arguably health care providers as well.”
“"'My Leaky Body' is amazing and cutting edge. Julie is courageous to engage in this type of work which is testing the boundaries of traditional scientific approaches to health care research. Julie's performance work is vulnerable, touching, deep and real. It is reflective of how our current health care system can at times be. I think it is a unique approach and creates a gut impact. If you are a practitioner, policy maker or a patient, you must see her performance."”
“You gave us such a gift. Your honest and beautiful story of illness, institutions and identity gave me and other participants at the conference a chance to more deeply consider health care and health research. The workshop that you facilitated the following day "Where does your body go when you do research" brought us into our bodies. It was meaningful to consider what it would mean to bring both our minds and our bodies to the work we do. In the weeks since the conference, I have received many comments on how important your performance was for participants. Thank you for enriching our conference with your performance and your questions for later reflection.”
“"...a truly stunning piece of work. Very rich and provocative"”
““As medical professionals, we forget the impact that our rituals have on patients. We feel so safe that we can chart things and we believe that we've captured the experience… but do we truly know what that feels like to the individual? This performance is provocative because it destabilizes you at the same time it offers opportunities for better ways of communicating with patients. I think on some level you have to feel a bit uncomfortable in order to stimulate change and make an impact. It's also humorous to me because we all do the same things, but are patients' needs really being met? My Leaky Body teaches professionals what good practice looks like and how patients' own narratives can truly support us in meeting their needs.””
“In My Leaky Body, Devaney's writing talent turns emergency-roomneglect into poetry… [She] is one of the few individuals brave enoughto complain without blaming. Her courage is raw.”
“With television filled with fictional shows about life as a doctor--from ER to Grey's Anatomy--it is refreshing and insightful to see a performance about the reality of life as a patient. This intimate account blends anger and humour to reclaim the role as subject, not object. For those who think we have already achieved patient-centered care, this is a wake-up call.”
“Julie Devaney's My Leaky Body had me on the edge of my seat from the moment she sat up on the edge of her gurney. Devaney is fearless in bringing the real, terrible, wonderful story of one femme disabled woman's body to the stage. More, please.”
“Thank you so much for coming to our class, bringing us something so novel, and stimulating a fascinating discussion. I've no doubt that your material will come up again and again in the course as it touched on so many of our themes of medicine, power and social order. You've given us a personal referent and, as Melissa said, bravely brought a body into the cerebral space of the classroom. Your performance inspired me to be more creative and embodied in my own performances as a scholar and a teacher.”