Theatre shows on Mental Health Awareness Week

Mental Health Awareness Week this year takes place from 13th – 19th May. London has some great shows exploring mental health all year round, here are four running this week. For more information on Mental Health Week please visit https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/our-work/public-engagement/mental-health-awareness-week

People, Places and Things

Emma was having the time of her life. Now she’s in rehab. Her first step is to admit that she has a problem. But the problem isn’t with Emma, it’s with everything else. She needs to tell the truth. But she’s smart enough to know that there’s no such thing. When intoxication feels like the only way to survive the modern world, how can she ever sober up? Duncan Macmillan’s intoxicating hit play People, Places and Things, directed by Jeremy Herrin and designed by Tony Award®-winner Bunny Christie, makes a triumphant return to London this May. Denise Gough reprises her Olivier Award-winning role as Emma, a struggling actress whose life is spinning recklessly out of control.

Stop Trying To Look At…

An autobiographical black comedy about grief and vulnerability. The piece was inspired by a book titled ‘For Jacob’- a collection of letters and stories about Jacob’s late father who passed away when he was a child. The book was curated by his dad’s close friends and family. Jacob first looked at the book while studying for his masters at Mountview as part of his creative project and from this birthed Stop Trying To Look At… The show is an autobiographical adventure of anecdotes and rap music that explores grief, identity and vulnerability through Jacob’s adolescence. As much as this performance is a reflection of his life, he believe it taps into the wider human experience.

Now, I See

Two brothers reunite to honour their sibling's life at a celebration of remembrance. As they begin to explore letting go, they are forced to confront their shared past and long-standing estrangement. Following the sell-out run of SAMSKARA (The Yard), this brand-new work by Lanre Malaolu explores the challenge of forgiving yourself for a lifetime of suppressed emotion, while celebrating the profound bond of brotherhood and the resilience that can be found in joy.

A powerful fusion of movement, song, and text, Now, I See is an exploration of identity, forgiveness and nature’s visceral power to heal.

Now, I See is the second instalment in Lanre's trilogy that excavates and celebrates the truth of being a Black man in contemporary Britain.

Bluets

Bluets is a story about depression and desire, pleasure and pain, and a person possessed by a lifelong obsession with the colour blue. Communing with artists like Joni Mitchell, Derek Jarman, Andy Warhol and Billie Holiday, blue is their constant companion as they navigate the devastating pain of a life-altering heartbreak. Based on acclaimed author Maggie Nelson’s unique and electrifying book, Bluets is an adaptation by playwright Margaret Perry, directed by Katie Mitchell. Performed by Emma D’Arcy (House of the Dragon), Kayla Meikle (ear for eye) and Ben Whishaw (Cock, James Bond, This is Going to Hurt, Paddington).

People, Places and Things: Trafalgar Theatre, 3 May - 10 Aug https://trafalgartheatre.com/shows/people-places-and-things/

Stop Trying To Look At…: Canal Café, 13-31 May https://canalcafetheatre.com/our-shows/dk/

Now, I See: Stratford East, 10 May -  1 June https://www.stratfordeast.com/whats-on/all-shows/now-i-see

Bluets: Royal Court, 17 May - 29 June https://royalcourttheatre.com/whats-on/bluets/