Live Borders Arts & Creativity join in National Mental Health Focussed Arts Festival

Live Borders Arts & Creativity have announced details of their events as part of this year’s Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival (SMHAF).

SMHAF is one of the world’s leading arts events, dedicated to mental health with a programme that covers all artforms, from theatre, film and music, to visual arts, writing and dance. Their aim of the festival is to explore how the arts and creativity can help to prevent mental health problems and support people to live mentally healthier lives.

The festival theme this year is ‘Comfort & Disturb’, based on a quote by the Mexican poet and academic Cesar A. Cruz who said that “Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable”,

The play selected for this year’s festival is ‘Perfect Dead Girls’ by Audaciously Tenacious Theatre, which received four- and five-star reviews at the Edinburgh Fringe.  Described as a “a high-energy bubblegum-pop spectacle with a gut-wrenching secret lurking beneath the surface”, the play uses memories, music and Y2K pop culture to question how young women survive in a system that asks them to tear each other down.

Jason Moyes, Head of Arts & Creativity at Live Borders said:

“The idea of using art to comfort and disturb mirrors our ambition to bring live theatre and dance performances to the region that are thought provoking, challenging and a starting point for further conversations. This is particularly important in theatre that explores themes around mental health, that people can relate to and find comfort in. ‘Perfect Dead Girls’ packs a punch, is perfect for the festival and will appeal to people who perhaps don’t think theatre is for them”

In ‘How to let laughter light up your life’ a free workshop with the Scottish comedian Jojo Sutherland. Participants will learn the skills to find the funny in whatever challenges they are facing.

“Stand-up comedy probably one of the toughest jobs you could do, and the idea of putting yourself on a stage, behind a microphone, and having to ‘perform’ features heavily in people’s top ten fears.  It’s also been proved that learning how to find the funny in your life and talking about your problems through comedy can help raise your confidence and improve mental health and well-being.”

More information is available on the Live Borders website liveborders.org.uk/what’s-on.

Event: Perfect Dead Girls 
Location: Galashiels Volunteer Hall 
Date: Friday Oct 24 
Time: 19.30
Pricing details: Standard £10, Concession £8 

Tickets: https://bit.ly/Perfect_SMHAF25

Event: How to let Laughter Light up your Life 
Location: Heart of Hawick 
Date: Monday 3 November 
Time: 18.30-21.30 
Pricing details: Free, registration essential 

Tickets: https://tinyurl.com/Comedy-Workshop

 

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