Revolving Door
A Play about Suicide.
HEARTH Centre
Health, Education and the Humanities
with Art at Heart
www.thehearthcentre.org.uk
Background
• Commissioned 2002
• Suicide Prevention
conference 2003
• Based on research
and real stories
Martin’s story
Martin’s story 1
Details:
• Nineteen at start of
play
• Single parent family
• Close to his Mum
• School refuser at six
years old
• Talented musician.
• Abandons music after
setback with band
• Won’t talk about
distressing things
Martin’s story 2
Details:
• Unemployed
• Goes to GP. She
doesn’t pick up his
suicidal tendencies.
• Isolated and relies on
the internet for
interaction
• Obsessive about the
State of the World
Martin’s story 3.
Details:
• Gets his own flat
• Suggests suicide pact
with his Mum on Xmas
Eve
• She sections him
• Put under “obs” in
hospital
• “ Escapes from hospital”
• Found dead 5 days later
Structure of the play
• Coroner’s court
• Martin is the coroner of
his own hearing.
• Calls witnesses from his
life.
• Rewinds scenes.
• Revolving Door is the
motif for going back in
time to his childhood.
• No realistic
representation of the
suicidal act
Questions raised by the play
• Is Martin mentally ill?
• Or is he just an intense
young man?
• How can society help
Martin?
• How can professionals
help Martin?
• Could this suicide have
been prevented?
Northern Ireland
• Jan/Feb 2007
• Commissioned by
Rethink
• Part of an anti stigma
campaign in Northern
Ireland
• Significant increase in
reported deaths by
suicide in NI in the last 3
years
• Young males: Highest
group.
New audience
• We usually target
older audiencesHigher Education and
Professionals
• Northern Ireland
audience:
• Schools
• Young offenders
• Women prisoners
Coverage
• Over 2000 people in 10
days
• 14 shows
• 8 schools groups
• Each schools group
comprised average of
200 people
• Evening shows to
community and mental
health groups
• Return tour to Derry and
Western Board in April 07
• Further 1000 school
pupils
Development of the play for N. I. Tour
 Additional character, Alan:
 Childhood friend
 Bullying behaviour:
 Childhood and adult
bullying
 Function of character; To
address the
responsibility of friends
 No adaptation to NI
situation requested by
commissioners
Development of the play for N. I. Tour
 Development of the
interactive component:
 Martin, as coroner,
frames audience as jury
 The mother, friend and
GP are hot seated by the
audience
 How could they have
supported Martin more?
 Forum Theatre technique
used to
 Replay scene between
Alan and Martin
Evaluation: Hearth
• Did the play help you to
•
•
•
•
•
think about how suicide
can be prevented?
Very well : 84%
Was the interactive
debate effective?
Very effective: 60%
Comments on the
methodology:
Boal’s way of workingfantastic to watch and be
a part of, good follow up
to assist training
Evaluation: Rethink
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Did the play help you to
think any differently about
mental health problems?
75% said Yes.
Key take home message:
It’s important to talk to
people about your problems
Rethink’s executive
summary :
The most successful
specific activity of the
campaign was Revolving
Door.
Short listed for a National
Media Award.
Observations on audience
reaction
 Blaming of the mother:
You didn’t let him breathe.
 You’re trying to make him normal
 You’re not warm enough
You should have told him why his Dad left
Caesarian section might have been a factor in
subsequent suicide.
 No discussion at all of the Post Conflict
situation in NI.
 Mature discussion with the GP re
confidentiality and explicit discussion of
suicide
Observations on audience
reaction
 Greater interest in religious themes of
the play in Northern Ireland:
 The mother didn’t swear on the bible in court
 He should have seen his priest
“You gave the church a bit of a pasting”,
comment by a priest.
 Some Take-home messages of the play
It is easier for a camel to pass through the Eye
of a Needle than for a rich man etc. ???
It was his own fault and no-one else’s
Don’t go messing about in Revolving Doors