Fake It 'Til You Make It: art and science in perfect harmony

Trying to balance entertainment and facts has been the downfall of many an artist. But Bryony Kimmings' latest work shows it can be done with panache

How do you make theatre which effectively communicates information without producing something that makes the audience wish they'd bought tickets to Wicked instead? As the Guardian's science production editor I see a lot of what is termed "science communication". It's something of a buzzphrase which can mean anything from the slightly misfiring videos which caused a furore last week to the Large Hadron Collider's arts residencies. Sometimes wonderful pieces of art are created; more often, yes, we wish we were drinking an overpriced G&T and marvelling at flying monkeys instead.

This balance of art and information is something which performance artist Bryony Kimmings manages extremely well, without resorting to the trappings of Oz. Her much-lauded 2013 Edinburgh show, Credible Likeable Superstar Role Model, took on what she labels "the tween-machine": the sexualisation and commercialisation of childhood. Her latest show, Fake It 'Til You Make It, tackles the issues around mental health in men, and does so in typically personal style through the lens of her partner Tim Grayburn's clinical depression.