Mental health stage play role for star actress Julie
LUCY LOVELL
AHUGE amount of people have experienced mental health issues - whether it’s first hand or through someone close.
Recent figures from Mind show that approximately one in four people in the UK will experience a mental health problem each year, and in England, one in six report experiencing a common mental health problem such as anxiety and depression in any given week.
The Observer revealed earlier this month how Hyndburn has one of the highest suicide rates in England with the borough ranked seventh out of all local authorities and has the highest rate in East Lancashire.
It’s these stark figures and more which have inspired a new play, which stars former Coronation Street actor Julie Hesmondhalgh.
The award winning actress, originally from Elmfield Street in Church, will perform alongside critically acclaimed Norah Lopez Holden as mother and daughter in The Almighty Sometimes.
Speaking about the issues around mental health, former Moorhead High School pupil Julie said: “It’s clear that some people need medication.
“I know enough people taking medication to know that they’ve tried everything else before they’ve gone to that. But maybe in some cases, maybe we’re not looking deeply enough at the root causes.
“I would say that if there’s a crisis in mental health then I think a huge part of that is the breakdown of families, and the poverty that families are experiencing.
“I worry that if you don’t have sharp elbows as a parent, that people can really get left behind as well.
“We should never be in a system with people who are vulnerable, because people who don’t have anyone to advocate for them often get lost in the system.” But it’s not just poverty that can trigger mental health issues, something that Julie’s character will explore in the upcoming play.
She said: “It’s the breakdown of communities – traditional working class communities.
“People being more and more isolated, young people and children being more isolated and not being as connected to communities and each other and nature and the outdoors.”
The Almighty Sometimes is on at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester from February 9 to 24, with tickets priced from £13 to £17.50, concessions also available.