The Possibility of Colour is a new play by writer-director-producer Pete Carruthers.
Created over several years in collaboration with mental health professionals, academics and those with experience of the themes explored, the play provides insight into the reality of voice hearing, synaesthesia, forced treatment and more.
Carruthers explains: “the play opens up vital conversations about the ways in which we treat people who are deemed by society to be ‘abnormal’ or ‘mentally ill’.”
To that end, up to 1,350 student nurses will watch the play this November and December as part of their nurse training. Tickets are funded by Health Education England, and it will mean that attending the play and post-show Q&A will count as practice / placement hours towards their training.
With a PhD study running alongside the production, the aim is to expand this approach across the country, making dramatic theatre and film a key element of training for students of all health professions.
The Possibility of Colour is at Salford University’s Adelphi Theatre November 17–18, Preston’s Media Factory November 23–25, Ormskirk’s Rose Theatre November 29–30.