An important new play by Nicci Hopson, director of Ariel Company Theatre, will shine a light on men’s mental health
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00:00 Good afternoon, my name is Phil Turek, Group Arts Editor at Sussex Newspapers. Now there's
00:06 a really important play coming to Horsham later this year, end of May at the Capitol,
00:11 written by Nikki Hobson, who is bringing the Ariel Company Theatre to the stage with Barnet
00:17 Hawkes. Now this is a play which addresses men's mental health, doesn't it? Why did you
00:22 start writing about this subject?
00:24 Started writing it in Covid because I felt that for many reasons, I think one of the
00:29 main ones is that the sense of the lack of community, of course we have because of what
00:33 was happening, that people weren't, people were becoming more and more isolated and all
00:40 you have to see also is the incredible epidemic that is going on with male mental health.
00:47 And I felt I wanted to do a play that people could really relate to, and obviously men
00:53 more, and I wanted to do it in a comedic way so we could address it in a way that wasn't
01:00 too heavy and too stuffy, in a way that would open dialogue so people could go away and
01:06 digest it and maybe open up if they were struggling with mental health.
01:12 Why is it more of an issue for the men, do you think? Why is that?
01:15 I think because men don't communicate. Women go out into the world and very much like the,
01:20 I think it's the 1980s but wasn't it, men are from Mars, women are from Venus, men tend
01:25 to go back into their cave, they don't really talk about things, everything can get sometimes
01:31 really, I don't know.
01:34 It just feels more entrenched, doesn't it?
01:38 Yeah, absolutely. And I think also, I think society says it's a sense of weakness to say
01:44 that maybe you are struggling, certainly within a work environment, it's been proven that
01:49 people don't go for promotion, don't get promotions and such like, because they see mental health
01:54 as a weakness. So I think men tend to be very strong and they can't do that because it's
02:00 a sense of weakness, where I think women are much more open and honest with their emotions.
02:06 So I think that's why it happens.
02:09 And really interesting, using comedy as a gentle way into this very difficult subject.
02:14 Yeah, absolutely. The play, you'll go from, we've done it before and it was absolutely
02:21 rip roaring laughter and naughtiness into real moments of sharp intake of breath, of
02:28 wow, yeah, I've been there. Yeah, I can relate to that. Or I know someone, or my son or my
02:34 grandfather or my dad has felt like that, or I feel like that. And yeah, it's a real
02:42 roller coaster.
02:43 And there's a real message behind it without being preachy, obviously, but there is a message
02:47 that you've got to share this.
02:50 Yeah, and underpinned also with the music element. There's lots of music throughout
02:54 it and I think that breaks it up nicely. But I think if one person comes out of there and
03:00 it gets them talking to other people, my job is done. We're doing it for a charity, Breathe
03:06 Men. And I really do hope that people do go and explore groups to go and talk to so they
03:15 don't feel so isolated.
03:16 Fantastic. So it's Barnet Walks by Nicky Hodgson at the end of May.
03:22 End of May, beginning of June. That's it.
03:25 Lovely to speak to you. Congratulations on the play. It sounds brilliant.
03:30 Thank you so much. Thank you. Bye.
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