Belarus Free Theatre, the only theatre company in Europe banned by its own government, is exploring the nature of psychosis in its latest production called Tomorrow I Was Always a Lion at Arcola Theatre, in Dalston.

Based on the memoir by Arnhild Lauveng, the play tells a unique personal story of living with and recovering from schizophrenia and is the theatre company’s first show with an all British cast.

Actor Oliver Bennett, who is from High Wycombe, graduated from The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, in Fitzrovia, in 2009 and has appeared in a few West End shows including Backbeat, at the Duke Of York Theatre, which was about the early days of The Beatles.

The 31-year-old plays a number of different characters in Tomorrow I Was Always A Lion and explains why he wanted to get involved in a controversial text aimed to challenge our perceptions and understanding of the condition.

Oliver says: “It is the story of Arnhild’s life, as her schizophrenia developed very gradually while she was a very promising student and very intelligent young woman. We see it from her point of view, as she has a very unusual experience and ends up getting better without drugs in the end, so it is a story of recovery.

“On one level it is a look at the illness in the way people approach it and looks at how to deal with someone going through it, but on the other side, it is also a personal story of a woman who believes it should be treated in an individualised way, as everyone’s illness is different.

“I play a few different people, as things change a lot throughout the play. It is initially set in her mind but is also set outside her mind in the real world too. She has hallucinations and I play a character from one of her visions, who is called The Captain and is a commanding, authoritative figure in her life with a very strict regime of work for her and is quick to punish. This causes her to self-harm, but I then play a doctor in the real world, so it does often change around.”

Although the theatre company doesn’t usually perform with a British cast, Oliver previously knew the director, Vladimir Shcherban, and was asked to be involved in the play.

The company, which was set up in 2005, was blacklisted in Belarus for speaking out against the government regime but the performers have been touring round different countries with shows highlighting the political injustice of their homeland. Oliver admits he was keen to be involved in Tomorrow I Was Always a Lion, as he felt it was refreshing to work in a setting that was so different to his previous work.

He says: “I like that the performances at the theatre are different to what you would normally see, as they are very physical and not afraid to push boundaries.

“I was trained in very naturalistic theatre so I think it has been a nice chance to do something a little different. I find the theatre very refreshing, as they are not constrained by any authority over how they do things.

“My passion for performing began as a child. I used to do a lot of impressions and I wanted to be an impressionist for a while, as I always liked comedy, even though nobody else in my family shared the same love for performing.

“My great grandfather was a famous busker called Henry Hollis, and he was the most arrested man in London at one point, so maybe there is an ancestral link that was passed down to me that may explain where I developed a love for performing.”

Tomorrow I Was Always a Lion, Arcola Theatre, Ashwin Street, Dalston, E8 3DL, until Saturday, October 29, 7.30pm, details: arcolatheatre.com