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‘The Wall’ – After a sudden and tragic event at their school an unlikely group of friends rally together to find themselves, each other, and a way over the wall.
Utilising #BeeWell survey data, LightUP Shirley worked with members of their youth drama group (aged 12-17) to explore a performance focused on wellbeing.
They aimed to encourage discussion around the struggles young people in Southampton were experiencing around mental health and use drama as a therapeutic tool to improve confidence, social skills, and general wellbeing.
Through creative activities, drama exercises and a supportive environment, members navigated the survey data and devised strategies to address the challenges identified in the survey that inspired change and improvement.
The cast developed a script that aimed to reduce the stigma of mental health and support young people with understanding, coping, and seeking help. The play also encourages young people to not be a bystander to bullying, loneliness and isolation from peers.
“I’ve loved being able to write this piece, especially from my own experiences, and being able to share and raise awareness of these issues. As well as this, I have enjoyed portraying my character, as this is very different from anything I’ve ever done, and it feels much more like being myself. I have also loved working with such a wonderful cast, who are some of my best friends and I can’t wait to see what else we can do with this project.” Tess
‘The Wall’ is a relatable story that explores the walls that we can build around ourselves, and how through kindness and empathy we can take steps to change our own and others’ wellbeing.
“The wall is really just about being a bridge to people who might be struggling with the same thing” Hannah.
“I loved the whole process; it was truly amazing and so fun to work with this cast! My favourite part of the process is the monologues because they make our piece and characters have personality. I also really enjoyed the movement sequences; I think it shows that you don’t always have to speak to show how you feel and that meaning can be drawn from silence.”
The Wall was performed on Saturday November 30th at Maskers Theatre to a VIP audience and then later to the public. Attendees at both shows were incredibly impressed with the way the story took the audience on the journey of the group through the very talented cast and script.
Not only is The Wall a remarkably powerful tool to support young people’s mental health, but there were also impactful outcomes for the cast members themselves:
“If you’re not confident in your own body or how you speak, you can kind of put your own situations into your own character.”
“It’s definitely helped me speak out a lot more about my mental health because I’ve been in a few rough places before.”
“When we get to show that people do feel these feelings through what we love, we think it’s the best thing in the world.”
“It’s definitely helped me speak a lot more about it with my friends and my parents, and it’s been really good help.”
#BeeWell was delighted to be able to enable Light UP ensemble to undertake this wellbeing empowerment project that supports our aim to make young people’s wellbeing everybody’s business.
We would like to thank the Executive Director Courtney Fayle and the amazing cast of the Wall for their fantastic work!
