Play on mental health
There are small things that have been ignored and when you see it in a play, happening in front of you, then there is a lot of realisation that takes place for the audience and we hope that that realisation takes place.” Kalyan Chakravarthy
Mental health is a hot topic in today’s day and age. Controversial yet crucial, it is something that adolescents and adults struggle with every day. It is something everyone is aware of, but no one talks about. Slumber Party Confessions is a play that aims to do just that – start a conversation about mental health in this part of the world.
Organised by the Universal American School in association with Mad About Dance (MAD) studio and w2w events, Slumber Party Confessions is a combined community effort to spread the message about the importance of mental health.
Written by Dubai-based Zareen Khan, the play was inspired by her childhood experiences. “The characters are literally personalities of friends and other people who were around me at that point,” she said.
Even though there is a boom in the popularity of theatre in this region, there are no relevant stories talking about the actual issues that people are facing or can relate to.
“There was nobody talking about mental health or addressing problems that are kind of pushed under the rug sometimes because people don’t want to talk about it. So, we wondered how do we talk about serious issues and still make it fun and relevant – to start opening people’s minds about communicating with others by switching off technology and having face-to-face interactions,” she said.
The main mission of the play is to convert awareness into action. “I hope that once people leave, they strike up a conversation with someone they haven’t spoken to in a long time,” Zareen said.
“There are small things that have been ignored and when you see it in a play, happening in front of you, then there is a lot of realisation that takes place for the audience and we hope that that realisation takes place,” adds director Kalyan Chakravarthy.
When asked about why she chose the setting of a slumber party to get her message across, Zareen said that when she was younger that is how she bonded with her friends. “All my judgements would change through slumber parties, about people. We were all just in our pajamas and have that one-on-one time.”
Zareen made her connection with the play very clear, but what about the others, what encouraged them to get on board?
Cast member Krishi Punjabi says that the acting bit along with the message sold the script to her. “When I read the script I was able to relate to it. It is very difficult usually because when you’re acting you are forced to be someone else but with this particular script, it didn’t demand that of me.”
To keep things authentic, the cast was allowed to improvise their lines. Another cast member, Sanchita Nagarajan, says, “It is really crucial for the youth to understand how important it is to give a direction to their enthusiasm, their passions and rebellious nature, to fight for something that is going to make the world a better place. I think this play is really going to create a change.”
With eight young and fresh-faced female cast, coupled with a strong story, this play isn’t just your run-of-the-mill theatre performance. It has dance numbers to set the mood of the scene.
Producer, Mahima Mehta says, “As MAD we have done a lot of dance shows but there was always a longing to do a dance-theatre spectacle, and Zareen is known for coming up with concepts that have a good message. Working with Zareen and director Kalyan put everything in perspective.”
The media has been key in stirring controversy and conversation around the topic of mental health. However, have they done justice in terms of recreating the reality? Zareen believes that they can do better.
“I think there is a huge distortion in the perception of reality due to the media, whether it is body image, financial status or popularity. I think that media and social media feeds on this unrealistic expectation especially from young people,” she said.
Mahima agrees that as citizens of the world, we do not talk about these problems as much as we should. “I don’t think we are still talking about it as much as we should. Everyone wants to stay connected and social media seems to be the only medium. They don’t want to be an outcast,” Mahima said.
“It is high time we disconnect from technology and reconnect with humans,” adds Sanchita.
When asked about whether schools in the UAE can do more to support students in terms of ensuring a healthy mental status, the group had mixed reactions. Most of them agreed that more than the school, parents should be held responsible.
Zareen believes that parents are using technology to fulfill their duties. “I think it starts with the parents. Parents haven’t been taking this seriously enough. I have seen people give gadgets to toddlers who barely know how to walk but know how to use an iPad. It is almost like letting technology do the parenthood part. Nurturing needs to come back and there should be less dependency on third factors.”
Sanchita believes that the best thing for schools to do is to have students raise awareness through the arts.
“I feel like as someone who is in school at the moment, maybe psychology students who are aware about the different happenings can spread the message. They can educate others. They can create awareness,” she said.