Event
Write Your Mind, a play about youth mental health, will have its premiere at Birr Theatre & Arts Centre on 10 December 2015. Produced by Jigsaw Offaly and Offaly Youth Theatre, the play is the culmination of a project where six writers, under the mentorship of playwright Eugene O’Brien, interpreted what it’s like to grow up as a teenager in a not so perfect world.
Ciara finds something heavy behind the front door one day… her Da’s head. Amy gets freaked out by lots of things: balloons, bullies, best friends; all these can induce a massive panic attack, anywhere, anytime. Jamie is not depressed. He just gets a bit down after a session, he says.
These are just three of the six characters you will meet in this collection of monologues as hilarious as they are stark, by a new crop of Irish literary talent: Caroline Bracken, Andrew Brown, Niall Cleary, Lorna Kelly Dalton, Rory Duffy and Alison Martin. A discussion following the performances will be led by Jigsaw’s clinical team. It is advised that the play features strong language and sensitive themes. There is limited availability and booking is essential.
Background
In the summer of 2015, Jigsaw Offaly invited writers to submit stories or theatrical monologues on the topic of living with mental health issues. The stories/monologues were to feature issues that might affect a young person in the 12 – 25 age category and would be performed by young actors in this age range. Playwright Eugene O’ Brien (Eden/Pure Mule/Red Rock) led a collaborative process with young actors from Offaly Youth Theatre and young people from Jigsaw’s Youth Advisory Panel (YAP) in the adaption/editing of a selection of these accounts into dramatic monologues. The resulting work will also be recorded for radio. The aim of the project is to give an insight into the reality of youth mental health in contemporary Ireland.
Date: Thursday, 10 December 2015
Venue: Birr Theatre & Arts Centre
Time: 1pm
Bookings: 057-9122911 or www.birrtheatre.com
Write Your Mind at First Fortnight
Write Your Mind will also be staged during First Fortnight, Ireland’s annual arts and mental health festival. The performance will take place on 14 January 2016 at Dunamaise Arts Centre, Portlaoise. For booking information see https://firstfortnight.ticketsolve.com/#/shows/873543878