Emmaline is a play designed to start conversations about suicide

A Hamilton playwright’s oneperson show about a character named Emmaline offers a chance to raise awareness and spark conversations about the impact of suicide and the people it touches.

St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton commissioned “If you know Emmaline” — an original work by Andrew Lee — to mark World Suicide Prevention Day on Sept. 10.

“It’s something unique and different that engages with our community in a slightly different way than we have in the past,” said Fiona Wilson, manager of patient and family collaborative support services at St. Joe’s.

The hour-long play touches on how Emmaline arrived at this “crisis moment” and how the different people in her life are impacted by suicide, said Lee.

Actor Liz Der plays five different characters in the show, which is directed by Cassidy Saddler.

It was important for Lee, who is also a high school teacher, to hit “the right notes” with his work so the story didn’t become “hollow.”

He said he pulled from his own life experiences, statistics, research and transcripts from interviews with unnamed survivors of suicide, family members and health-care workers provided by St. Joe’s.

Lee hopes the play, which will be followed by a panel discussion and audience Q&A, can be a starting point for what can be difficult conversations about suicide and show people they are not alone.

“From people who have not encountered this a lot or haven’t experienced this personally, it’s kind of good just to talk about this ... because it’s kind of a scary topic,” he said.

For St. Joe’s, the play allows them to reach a broader audience

with their annual event, which is important given mental health affects people of all backgrounds and experiences, Wilson said.

“Suicide itself is something that also has such a broad reach and impact, whether someone is a survivor of someone who has died by suicide, or someone is

survivor of a suicide attempt themselves,” she said. “It’s a very powerful story and it’s very well done in reflecting the different experiences that people have related to suicide.”