It’s been a few weeks since the ‘Mental Health, a National Crisis’ panel discussion at Omnibus Theatre chaired by Lambeth mayor Christopher Wellbelove.
The talk featured our team Emma-Jane and Isaac, Mosaic Clubhouse, Cllr Jacqui Dyer MBE Lambeth, and performers/writers from the Omnibus season.
And it was a truly open discussion about the solutions to the mental health crisis we’re currently facing.
During the talk, the mayor had this to say: “I remember some of the darkest days [during my mental illness]. One of the feelings was that I was somehow weird, and I was the only one suffering like this.
“I think what we’ve shown here today, and thank you everybody who shared their story, is that there are so many of those stories out there. And I think the more that we talk about it the better. It really does help people recognise their own issues.”
Thank you to everyone who came along to my mental health debate at Omnibus Clapham last night, many sharing their own experiences of mental health services pic.twitter.com/cN4b0UJYsb
— Wellbelove (@wellbelove) January 10, 2019
There is a need to place empathy and compassion at the heart of this topic, activism and creative work we’re doing. Whether it’s through hardworking charities, councils, or activists. Or theatre venues like Omnibus and its important wellbeing season creating a platform for work such as our Father Figurine, The Swimmer, and Hearing Things placing people and real stories at the core of theatre.
They’re all vital at placing mental health at the tip of our tongues in order to affect real, positive change across the country.
Father figurine questions the stigmas around the mental health of men and boys through provocative hip hop theatre to explore the fractured relationship between father and son. For tickets to the rest of our national tour: Father Figurine