Programme announced to coincide with World Mental Health Day.
Now in its 11th year, BEDLAM 2024 presents a varied Arts and Mental Health programme, culminating in a showcase at Birmingham Rep on Thursday 28th and Friday 29th November. Presenting a diverse range of participatory and professional live performance including comedy, dance, theatre and burlesque, accompanied by an exhibition at the Library of Birmingham.
BEDLAM is an arts and wellbeing partnership, raising awareness of mental health through a diverse programme of visual arts, film, spoken word, dance, music, theatre, live performance and workshops in the community. With Sampad Arts, Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation, MAC Birmingham, Birmingham Rep and the Red Earth Collective.
Sabra Khan, Co-Producer for BEDLAM, said: “1 in 4 people in the UK experience a mental health problem each year. In England, 1 in 6 people experience a common mental health problem such as anxiety or depression each week. So, whether you’ve experienced this, or know someone who has, you’re not alone. It’s vital to share your stories – and taking part in the arts is a powerful way to do so.”
Steve Ball, Co-Producer for BEDLAM added: “We look forward to sharing some of the stories we’ve been exploring with participants through our programme, alongside professional companies who are leading the way in raising awareness of mental health and wellbeing recovery through the arts.”
The BEDLAM Showcase at The Rep varies each evening and will feature music from Red Earth Collective, a Black-led organisation that works with artists and communities with lived experience of mental health issues; an extract from Positive Risk from writer and theatre maker Katie Hoare based on people’s lived experiences and testimonies, giving voice to those who feel trapped; Comedy from The Rep’s LGBTQTeeHee participants each presenting 5-minutes of brand new comedy material created specifically for the Showcase turning personal and lived experience into an affirming and self-enhancing stand up comedy routine; powerful and deeply personal.
Witness This from Company Chameleon presents brave choreography exploring how loved ones cope with mental health problems take hold of someone close; expect soundscapes and projections from Journey LGBT + Asylum Group, led by Sampad and artist, Ash Mukherjee the group explores participants identity and wellbeing; and Just Enough Madness, a captivating solo dance-theatre piece in the evocative Indian style of Kuchipudi from Payal Ramchandi challenging society’s rigid boundaries of normal around motherhood, loss and identity.
The exhibition at the Library of Birmingham, which runs from 28th November until 25th January 2025 will feature work co-created with communities through the participatory projects delivered by partners.