A new play exploring mental health issues affecting teenagers is being performed as part of an innovative collaboration between Wiltshire Council and Arts Council England National portfolio organisation Salisbury Playhouse.
A new play exploring mental health issues affecting teenagers is being performed as part of an innovative collaboration between Wiltshire Council and Arts Council England National portfolio organisation Salisbury Playhouse.
Every You Every Me, commissioned by Wiltshire Council and written by award-winning Salisbury playwright Barney Norris, will be performed at secondary schools across Wiltshire. There will also be performances for mental health professionals, teachers and doctors, and Every You Every Me will be part of the regional theatre festival Theatre Fest West at Salisbury Playhouse.
The schools' performances, which start on Monday, March 23rd, will be supported by a workshop where young people aged 14-16 can access information and advice about all aspects of mental health.
Gemma Alldred, community director at Salisbury Playhouse said: 'Many young people are affected by mental health issues, they know the terminology but they wouldn't know what to do if they, or their friends, needed help. That's why this play is so clever - it's laugh out loud funny but also informative.'
Barney Norris, who is a former member of Stage '65 Youth Theatre at Salisbury Playhouse and recently won a prestigious Critics' Circle Award for Most Promising Playwright, talked to students at several of Wiltshire's secondary schools before writing Every You Every Me.
He said: 'I found they were incredibly emotionally literate but there is a lack of awareness about the fantastic support out there for young people in Wiltshire. There are kids self-diagnosing mental health problems and looking up symptoms on the internet when they really should see a GP.'
Barney also visited mental health professionals at Salisbury District Hospital, experts who help young people not in education or employment, and Devizes-based mental health charity the Richmond Partnership. Some of the young peoples' words have been incorporated into the script.
The project has been generously supported by Wiltshire Council as part of its programme to support people with mental health problems across the county.
Phil Gibby, Area Director, South West, Arts Council England, said: 'There is so much excellent work being done by arts and cultural organisations with measurable positive outcomes in health and social wellbeing and this is an excellent example.'
Public performances of Every You Every Me take place on Monday 30 March at 6pm and 8pm in The Salberg at Salisbury Playhouse. For more information visit www.salisburyplayhouse.com.