Take a Minute - Save a Life

I had a commission from Cardboard Citizens and the MIND in Harringey charity to write a play about the important issue of male suicide to coincide with World Suicide Prevention Day.  Having worked some time ago as a Samaritan volunteer I was delighted to be able to take part in such a vital project and contribute to awareness of such an important and neglected issue.  Suicide is seems is still something of a taboo subject, but the sad truth is that the number of men who took their own lives last year in the UK was 4,287.  I worked with the director, Stuart Mullins and a cast of actors and used research from the MIND charity and the Samaritans organisation to write a play on the subject.  I spent a short week writing the play in London, but the following week during rehearsals I had a call from Stuart saying one of the actors had had to pull out, so I had to travel to London again the next day and take his part.  The play was performed to a sell out audience at the Pleasance Theatre in London.  Below is some information and responses...

Posted on: 17 October 2017

Written by: Vicky Ream

Last week’s scratch performance with MIND in Harringey was a huge success, with the audience packing out the Pleasance Theatre to see the first performance of Take A Minute.

The show was based on a series of interviews and workshops facilitated by Cardboard Citizens with people affected by suicide. This was the first stage in the process to see how Forum Theatre can help to explore and raise awareness of mental health issues. The audience were invited to give suggestions on how we could take this model forwards and their thoughts on the content. We were overwhelmed by the positive and constructive audience feedback we received both through the discussion, Forum, feedback forms and social media.

Audience feedback included - 

“It made me more sure that every single thing helps no matter how ‘small’ it might be.”

“Notice more, talk more, listen more.”

“I was already aware of male suicide affecting a huge percentage of our population, but it has made me more aware of specific signs and issues and possible ways of approaching people who may be suffering.”

The evening ended with a panel discussion with Lynette Charles (CEO of MIND in Harringey), Stuart Mullins (Associate Director of Cardboard Citizens), Andre Skeete (Actor and Cardboard Citizens Member), Alex Jones (Writer and Actor) and Professor David Mosse (Chair of Haringey Suicide Prevention Group).