SYNOPSIS:

One Room is the reality and a biographical retrospective inspection of one woman’s life in one room, depression. It is a story of decadence, child abuse, homosexuality, suicide and rape. These are the words of an extremely intelligent and articulate individual; who is now after so many years is able to speak. Lee goes through a series of psychiatrists, combating changes, learning about herself and coping though black times, just trying to survive day to day. We first meet Lee, as she talks about one of her last suicide attempts in 2010. Lee attempts to reach out across the world to Ellen DeGeneres Studio, via email. It’s Christmas eve, when an email pops up on Maggie’s screen. Maggie, a junior producer is sending out late Christmas emails to Ellen fans, when this happens and she is hoping this suicidal email will change her life and boost ratings. Maggie must notify Australian police to save an unknown woman’s life. Ambulances siren up a local Gold Coast lookout, to find an unconscious woman, IPAD and empty pill bottles strewn across the back seat of a small car. After being pulled from her car with an overdosed of various pills and wine, Lee is rushed to emergency to be resuscitated. It is in these moments between life and death that Lee recounts her struggles within the one room, which she knows is in her head. In 1995 Lee admits herself to a private clinic and remains for the best part of seven months in one year. It is here she is finally diagnosed with depression and faces the demons that have plagued her all her life. Lee has more than five different doctors. One doctor after another open the can of worms, she has kept closed for so long, just to leave her feeling even more and more fragile, scared and depressed. However it is the final doctor, a Dr. Simms that makes the most progress in treatment, to find out that from a very early age lee had been abused by her father. On an ill advised visitation, Lee allows herself to be manipulated and sexually abused in hospital, by her past boyfriend, Marco, leaving her suicidal. Lee makes two new friendships with females while she stays in hospital, one of which is with Anna, a lost and misguided bisexual twenty-one year old searching for attention. Ensues a relationship, which continues outside the hospital, for a while and as a threesome with Marco. Before Lee leaves the clinic, she discloses she has been raped several times. Lee cannot see that all rape is wrong. The first occurs when teen Lee, naive and only ever had one sexual partner, meets Ben. Ben is a TV celebrity, with an oversized ego. He rapes her, gloating announces, he’ll be back tomorrow for more. Thinking herself lucky not to be dead, manages to kick him out, and goes on with her life, blaming herself for being bad. Several years after, and while still under psychiatric care of Dr. Simms, Lee has married, divorced and had two children and is now in a relationship with Mick. They are expecting their first baby and this has changed the dynamics of their romance. Mick is yet another abusive relationship for Lee, as he is in it for fun and the introduction of a baby alters his vision. He leaves her with a new baby to raise and her two older children and no money or support. Lee turns on herself and tries again to commit suicide, by first trying to drown herself and then driving to the top of a Gold Coast hill, and taking many sleeping pills with wine. She has sent several suicide notes to an American studio prior to being found by paramedics. Does she live today?

ONE ROOM WRITTEN BY ELISA STEEL (C)2015

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