"It's vital for humanity to see and feel those things"

What the audience said in Ōtautahi Christchurch

featherStrength, Jack Mann Theatre, Christchurch - 2 August 2026

On why this story needed telling:

"It's a poetic statement for the struggles we all go through, really. Who has a bigger struggle? No one. We know that this man's struggling, and yet he's finding solutions. It's therapeutic, for us all."

On isolation, and finding you're not alone in it:

"Seeing the movie really highlighted so much for me, as I've had a lone journey with disability, not being able to totally share it with a partner. I've walked my path and tried to find answers - but just to have that knowing that there's someone else out there, and their plight is the same. Unless you've had it, it's very hard to comprehend. You can look from a distance, but you're not walking in those people's shoes."

On accepting, not overcoming:

"There's beauty in what Jon said about embracing the light with the dark, and not trying to fight the dark - because that can just become an ongoing struggle. His film didn't say it was about overcoming darkness. It was about accepting and living with hard things, seeing beauty in them, and seeing what they've given you as a person."

On the courage to document it:

"The story was so true and so exposing and beautiful. To see the art - the beauty of the art that Jon created through that experience, and had that shared, again, is just potent. It's vital for humanity to see and feel those things."

As a parent:

"I found featherStrength just so moving. That sense of loss of control over your life and identity - our children are healthy, I'm so grateful for that, but a small part of my husband and I have always missed the old life. It was beautiful to see our experience reflected on screen - obviously a much deeper struggle, but still very relatable."

featherStrength - living the life you didn't plan for.