‘In Our Our Own Words’ – reflection by LAH researcher Elle Charlton
In Our Own Words, is a production by Wake the Beast, a theatre company challenging important social issues through experiences and performances. In the performance I attended on Thursday we heard the voices of staff members, ad verbatim, across the Whittington Health NHS Trust, to begin to understand their experiences and reflections during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Right at the start of the first COVID-19 wave, knowing that this was an unprecedented situation, the clinical health psychology department at the Whittington, started to think about different ways they could support staff across the trust. One of the ideas that came through discussions with Adam at Wake The Beast, was the idea to interview staff in the hospital and community, and turn these interviews into a performance that could be given across both community and hospital settings, as a way to facilitate discussions and reflections across the workforce.
On Thursday the 26th May, the performance was brought to the public at Jackson’s Lane Theatre, just up the road from the Whittingon. The crowd was largely staff who took part in this project, offering their voices, and their wider support networks including family and friends. There was a feeling of excitement that this performance had made it to a theatre, and anticipation of the feelings and emotions the night might re-surface. Especially as staff have had little time to have a proper break and reflect on the last two and half years since the first lockdown, and how life is seemingly back to normal again for now.
The stage setting was simple; three exercise bikes, a hospital bed and two clothes lines, crowded with scrubs and PPE. Very few other props are used throughout the performance, but those which were used have maximal effect. Collected stories and conversations are carefully narrated through both monologues and dialogues between the four actors, as we are taken through a rollercoaster ride of voices; from those working in infection control to those in the hospital seconded into very different roles driven by the flurry of COVID cases.
Infuriating stories of PPE inadequacies, FaceTiming from care homes to relatives, simple moments of joy through listening to their favourite songs, are all captured as we hear the ups and downs of how the pandemic has significantly changed our lives and how we interact with our local communities.
It was a hugely eye opening and energetic performance, that I hope will be seen by as many people as possible. Some of the comments post performance from the staff who were hearing back their own conversations were so powerful, one staff member said ‘The process of being interviewed and being listened to so well was like therapy to me’, and another said the whole experience of watching the performance had been so cathartic to her, that she had made sure to attend all ten performances that were held across the trust! One of the overall sentiments from the audience that evening was the importance of being able to share this performance with the wider public, as an educational piece and to demonstrate the huge network of brilliant people working across a plethora of roles to keep the cogs running across hospital and community settings.
This model of theatre, the sharing of stories of lived experience, demonstrates how the performing arts continue to be such a valuable tool for authentic, relatable storytelling to a diverse range of audiences. In this way, it has been pledged that they are going to be sharing the performance with parliament later this year.
Stay tuned for the release of the video recording of the performance which will be announced on Wake The Beast Theatres’ twitter!
