FRI 12 NOVEMBER, 7PM Cherry Reds Cafe Bar, 88-92 John Bright St, B1 1BN SAT 20 NOVEMBER, 7PM Holy Trinity Church, Trinity Road (corner of Birchfield Rd & Trinity Road), B6 6AH |
Stereohype
An ensemble of artists with a lived experience of mental health problems offering up their stories with powerful performances and rhythmic wordplay. Featuring spoken word and music to ignite your imagination and celebrate that healing feeling of creativity. Artistically directed by Sue Brown, Poet, Author and Presenter and Dr Judith Bruce-Golding, Vocal Performer and Trainer of Nakuona Arts. In 2002 the first StereoHype event took place in London. Eight black men with lived experience of Mental Health issues worked with artists to turn their experiences into stories that they shared with an audience of friends and family. Using spoken word, music, dance, film and theatre to engage and entertain audiences and to stimulate conversations about black mental-health. StereoHype has since evolved into an annual arts festival that celebrates the wellbeing of Black people. This year Red Earth Collective in partnership with poet, author and TV presenter Sue Brown and Vocal Performer Dr Judith Bruce-Golding, (the founders of Nakuona Arts) have worked with a group of emerging black artists all with lived experience of mental health, to create new work exploring their diverse experiences through music, performance poetry, story-telling and song. |
FRI 12 NOVEMBER, 8PM
The Irish Centre, 205 Wheeler's Lane, Billesley, B13 0ST Audience Comments:
"Really enjoyed the performance - it was very hard hitting but was a good mix of comedy and tragedy and the laughs did not take away from the seriousness of the message. Loved the music. The drama was very thought provoking... It really shone light on the devastating effect cyber bullying/bullying has on families and their communities." |
Spanner in the Works presents
Buttercup Written and directed by Patricia Downey Buttercup spans the last four decades of life in Northern Ireland. It takes an honest look at our past and asks what affect the past (coupled with the pressures of social media) is having on the current generation of young people. Suicide rates in Northern Ireland have risen sharply over the past few years - has our troubled past played a role in this? Warning – this play deals with suicide and contains scenes that some may find distressing. It also reflects the language and attitudes of its time. Some may find this content offensive. Age 16+ |
SAT 13 NOVEMBER, 11AM & 2.30PM
Ward End Library, Washwood Heath Road, B8 2HF Family event FREE EVENT Please note: The 11am performance is pre bookable from Fri 11 November by picking up a FREE physical ticket from Ward End Library. Please ensure you arrive 10 minutes prior to the performance if you have a free ticket so we are aware of available seats before allowing others to attend. |
Travelling Light Presents
Vixen Saffi is 11. She lives on an estate with her Dad and she is turning into a fox. After being scratched by a vixen in the raincoat man’s garden she begins to transform and dreams of running away to live with her fox family. But what about her dad and the raincoat man? Soon she will have to choose who her pack really is. The award-winning Travelling Light presents Vixen, an original story by Matt Grinter of a young girl who is turning into a fox. Expect to see beauty hidden in unremarkable places, friendships that don’t follow the rules, the things that unite us and a girl aching to belong. For ages 7+ and their families |
SAT 13 NOVEMBER, 7.30PM
FOYLE Studio, MAC Age 14+ Audience Comments: “An evening of thoughtful, honest, conversation and great music. At times raw and emotional, at others, full of humour and an uplifting perspective.” “Heartfelt thoughts and moving lyrics”. |
Matt McGuinness and the MLC: We Are What We Overcome
Matt tells personal, difficult and eclectic stories, interjected with eight original songs, performed with a band. From the early days of SatNav to Antony Gormleys “Another place” installation at Crosby beach, to a panic attack in a man made cave run by the Scouts movement to an inappropriately named teddy, Matt explores stories which highlight the challenge of change, the voices in our heads and the peaks and (at times very deep) troughs of life. Nothing is left to implication or to whispers, Matt talks directly to the audience, on and off the stage, conjuring an atmosphere of openness and understanding. Spit into two parts and moving between spoken word and music, space is allowed within the show for the audience to speak themselves. As Matt says, "If you’re going to create a space where you can open up, be prepared for honesty, hurt, empathy and emotions." The songs themselves rise from a capella voice to full-on sax, djembe and bass, with endearing and poignant spoon solos, haunting tin whistle melodies and all out 50s rock n roll. |
SUN 14 NOVEMBER, 7PM
Foyle Studio, MAC Age 12+ |
The Glad Game Written and performed by Phoebe Frances Brown Directed by Tessa Walker “You don’t have to do much to be an actor; just to be able speak and remember lines. Two very basic things” Phoebe is an actor. From her childhood impressions of Dolly Parton to grown up roles at The National Theatre, The Donmar Warehouse and New York Theatre Workshop, acting has defined who and what she is. In November 2018 Phoebe was diagnosed with an incurable cancer in the area of her brain that controls speech, language and memory. The Glad Game the story of finding herself in the bleakest of times, of discovering gladness in the saddest of moments and about how who and what you love can pull you through. The Glad Game is Co-Produced by Nottingham Playhouse and Pippa Frith, Sound Design by Iain Armstrong, supported by Arts Council England, Television Workshop, The Bush and Leicester Curve. Our charity partners are Brain Tumour Research. |
SUN 14 NOVEMBER, 1PM
The Loft, 143 Bromsgrove St, Birmingham B5 6RG |
Women & Theatre presents
Looking Back, Moving Forwards Researched & written by Hannah Graham An entertaining collection of monologues reflecting the experiences of older LGBT+ people from Birmingham, reflecting and celebrating the progress this generation was responsible for. Developed from research, the piece looks back to the past, at how things were for people coming out, going out, at work and with family; drawing connections with their experiences now. The performance will be followed by a discussion facilitated by W&T’s Artistic Director Janice Connolly (aka Mrs Barbara Nice) which make connections with the experiences of younger LGBT+ people today. Looking Back, Moving Forwards was originally commissioned by Birmingham & Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust in 2019. |
MON 15 NOVEMBER, 8PM
The STUDIO, The REP |
Songs in a Strange Land
In this time of inequality, adversity, and distress, trapped in pandemic of which there feels as if there is no escape, ‘how can we sing in this strange land’? Music and Stories from different generations are brought to you in this compelling showcase |
TUES 16 NOVEMBER - 3pm and 8pm
The STUDIO, The REP BSL Interpreted |
Matt Gurney: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest R&D
The story will follow the arrival on the ward of the mental hospital of a rebel deaf patient. It’s a metaphor for deaf oppression and will give hearing audiences an understanding of the silent world. The acting team include the amazing Ramesh Meyyappan, who develops performances using an eclectic mix of visual and physical theatre styles. This is a presentation of a work in progress, you have the opportunity to feedback to the artists to help them develop this show. |
TUE 16 NOVEMBER, 7PM
The Hearth Centre, MAC Age 14+ |
The Hearth Centre
Poems In Your Pocket: Sharing at Last Does enjoyment of a good read and beautiful poetry improve your well being? Do you find that sharing the appreciation through reading aloud increases your mental well being? Polly Wright and friends invite you to an evening of shared poetry and stories which will lift your spirits and reduce stress. We have done Poem in Your pocket sessions before, but this time it will be very special, as we emerge from our Year of Zoom and can celebrate the opportunity to share in person our experiences of the extra-ordinary times we have just lived through. The Poem in Your Pocket team will be reading our chosen pieces aloud in the first half of the evening- but we will dedicate the second half to an “open mic” session where we people can read the poems and stories they have brought along in their pockets for sharing.. |
WED 17 NOVEMBER, 8PM
The STUDIO, The REP "…performance was mindblowing, thought provoking and emotionally riveting. Beautifully written and wonderfully performed"
- Audience comment from No Bond So Strong, Sampad’s BEDLAM 2019 |
SAMPAD presents
The Walls Between Us When the pandemic hits, the Jamils are all affected in their own way. Rahil, a key worker, decides to self-isolate in his room to protect his elderly mother, Fazeela. Fazeela is struggling with the speed at which lockdown has been enforced and being cut off from her family and friends. Rahil's daughter, Malaika, is stuck at home, unable to go back to university. Will the Jamils pull together to help each other out through these difficult times? Or will they allow for the pandemic to push them apart? Produced by Sampad and written by Farrah Chaudhry, The Walls Between Us brings to the stage researched, personal experiences of Covid-19, looking at issues of grief, mental health and how different generations find ways to connect. The Walls Between Us has been commissioned by BEDLAM Arts & Mental Health Festival 2021. Suitable for ages 14+ This show is touring to community venues from 15th - 21st November. Please visit www.sampad.org.uk for more details. Warning – this contains scenes subjects relating to depression and suicide that some may find upsetting. |
WED 17 NOVEMBER, 6.30PM and 8PM
The Bryant Room, MAC About Lou Platt
Lou Platt is a UK based pioneer and founder of Artist Wellbeing. Being an Artist Wellbeing Practitioner is a unique synthesis of Lou's 17 years working as a qualified & registered integrative drama-psychotherapist, clinical supervisor and independent theatre maker/performer. Through use of compassionate therapeutic techniques, open dialogue and psycho-education, Lou strives to enable artists to not only take radical care of their mental health and wellbeing, but to also reach and maintain their fullest creative potential. Lou has worked as an Artist Wellbeing Practitioner within theatre, film, TV, dance, visual arts, writing and the music industries . |
Drawing on Lived Experience Workshop
What questions to ask to centralise wellbeing and make really good art Led by Lou Platt. As we witness the continued rise in artists drawing from their own personal - often traumatic - lived experiences to create their art, it is important for those artists (and associated practitioners) to know how to create processes that not only look after the art but also look after the people too. This workshop is for artists/practitioners who are interested in developing their knowledge and skills in creating safer spaces to work in when using autobiographical material. Using enjoyable action methods, psycho-education and shared collective wisdom, participants will gain better understanding of what to look out for, how to risk assess processes, what support to put in place, when and how. (This session is available to attend online on Mon 15th Nov) |
THU 18 NOVEMBER, 5.30PM
The STUDIO, The REP FREE EVENT |
Art of the Mind
We live in challenging times. Struggling with constant pressure from a world where we are always connected through digital media, we suffer loneliness and social fragmentation while anxiously searching for peace, happiness and love in the world around us. This panel discussion connects art, spirituality and mental wellbeing through the exploration of the mind. Panelists include Sikh artist Kanwar Singh, ex Vogue/Dazed creative and the curator of Journey of the Mind Deep Kailey, along with a local Birmingham artist. Art of the Mind is part of the wider public programme to accompany the Journey of the Mind exhibition at the Library of Birmingham which highlights the ways Sikh teachings inform a journey to understand the mind. The exhibition explores how the mind battles against negative forces within in order to find peace in troubled times. Paintings by artist Kanwar Singh and short films by animator Christian Wood illustrate the stories of those who attained the highest spiritual levels that afforded them the clarity and foresight to understand the world from an alternative perspective. |
THU 18 NOVEMBER, 6.15PM - 7.45PM
MAC Cinema |
Red Earth Films: Menologues and Femelogues
Short films exploring the impact of Covid-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement on the mental health of Black communities in Birmingham. Followed by a Q&A with the directors. At the height of the pandemic, Red Earth collaborated with Film Makers; Daniel Anderson from Rites of Passage Productions and Daina Anderson at Open Lens Productions to make a series of short films. The films that they created are all about the impact of Covid-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement on the mental health of Black women and men in Birmingham. The films will premiere at Bedlam and will be followed by a Q and A with both film makers hosted by Sandra Griffiths, the founder of the Red Earth Collective. |
THU 18 NOVEMBER, 8PM
Hexagon Theatre, MAC Age 14+ |
Francesca Millican Slater - A Patient Life
'I introduce you to Elizabeth, from before she was a patient, 'A pauper lunatic'. Her story is in the records, in correspondence and diagnosis, I have imagined her between the pieces of paper that seem to make up her life until the facts become too clear. Until I can’t anymore. I chose a woman because their voices, working class women's were not heard, listened to. Because being dramatic, violent in temper, disagreeable in temperate, was distinctly unladylike.’ Francesca found Elizabeth in admission papers and returned envelopes while exploring Hatton Asylum’s archive as artist in residence. Fusing facts and lyrical language she tells Elizabeth's story alongside the history of one ‘County Asylum’ as an institution at the turn of the 20th century; Using the past to ask questions about class, privilege, social responsibility and the care systems we have in place now. |
FRI 19 NOVEMBER, 7.30pm
Foyle Studio, MAC A post play Q and A will feature an opportunity for the audience to meet members of the production team and give feedback on the play. |
SCRATCH PERFORMANCE AND Q AND A
Rose Ward Writer: adiaryfromnoone Director: Lorna Laidlaw and Corey Campbell An opportunity to see Raw and Honest Theatre! At this scratch night, a female psychiatric ward in Birmingham opens its doors and transports you to front row seats of just a segment of the realities, ups and downs, full disclosure of what it is like behind closed doors of a mental health institution, allowing a peak into the minds, lives and constant reality of a hospital where different women in different levels of extreme psychiatric crisis are put in the same space, monitored 24/7 as their mental journeys unravel in a struggle for survival, where there is only one common denominator, an aim for safety and recovery. Drawing upon real life experiences this multimedia production, includes song, dance, spoken word and film. Rose Ward invites you to the truthful, sad, disturbing, layered, and complicated intricacies of the reality of being in mental health crisis. This production is in working development as adiaryfromnoone journeys towards telling her psychological truth and experiences. Contains sensitive content not suitable for audiences aged under 16. |
FRI 19 & SAT 20 NOVEMBER, 8PM
Studio, The Rep BSL Interpreted |
Lightpost Theatre Company & Birmingham Repertory Theatre present
FORGOTTEN KEY WORKERS Edited by CJ Lloyd Webley Directed by Mathias André For many, the world seemed to stop in March 2020 and they had to stay at home. Others were forced to risk their health and continue to work. This is the story of those who kept the world turning but didn’t get a clap. Following their sold-out show Constructed, Lightpost Theatre Company have spoken to the forgotten keyworkers to investigate how different groups were affected by the Covid crisis and what needs to change. Overworked shop assistants, delivery drivers on a deadline, taxi drivers in a tight spot, vets continuing to save lives…uncover the hidden stories of people navigating their way through the pandemic. |
SUN 21 NOVEMBER, 3PM
Foyle Studio, MAC BSL Interpreted |
Aidan Moseby: I was Naked, Smelling of Rain
I was Naked, Smelling of Rain is a heartfelt, life affirming story-telling experience exploring absence, presence, loneliness and disconnectedness through the lens of weather, climate change and wellbeing. We are at a critical point of the climate change and mental health crises. We are the most connected ‘on demand’ generation yet seem to have lost touch with who we are and where we fit in the world. We mediate our life through technology and screens. Are we ever truly where we are and present? Aidan Moesby is an artist, curator and writer who explores civic and personal wellbeing through a body of work that is at once playful, intimate, questioning and deeply human. His practice is a socially engaged one, rooted in research and response – in conversation of many kinds. He works extensively within arts and health and has a particular interest in the spaces where art, technology and wellbeing intersect. Aidan regularly curates and participates in events and discussions which centre these ideas. |
SUN 21 NOVEMBER, 7PM
Centrala, Unit 4 Minerva Works, 158 Fazeley St, B5 5RT |
BEDLAM SHOWCASE
AN EVENING OF WORKS IN PROGRESS Drop in and out of any of the following performances in the BEDLAM showcase of scratch, works in progress and rehearsed readings. Lifeline by Peter Harrison Lifeline is a play about what it is to really listen to someone when life gets unbearable. A harrowingly human set of conversations that will leave you challenged and at times deeply uncomfortable, yet with an enduring sense of hope. Lifeline is brought out of a great number of such conversations that have happened in real life. There is no theatricality here, only the simplicity of being human together. This piece has been supported by The Birmingham Repertory Theatre. Rita Suszek - Works in Progress Rita is a Polish multi-disciplinary artist based in London, UK. They work within theatre, poetry, comedy, improv and drag. Credits include solo comedy shows: Fuck It, I’m Thirty (2017) and F*cking European (2018), as well as a solo theatre show Five Dresses I Never Wear (2018 - present). This piece has been supported by Centrala. Omar Khan Presents A Beginner's Guide to Widowhood Scripted by Rae Mainwaring Suria has just lost her husband (She hasn’t misplaced him or anything - he's dead.) The family are on holiday in Turkey, to process their grief. But fraught emotions and the turbulent dynamics of a newly fractured family mean it isn’t exactly the restful getaway they had hoped for. A piece of new writing that challenges the roles society places on women, exploring the bereavement journey of a young widow. This piece has been supported by Derby Playhouse, In Good Company, The Big House (ERDF) & China Plate with support from Arts Council England. One further performance TBC. |
