Carefull at Dalston’s Arcola Theatre

I suspected that mental-health services for adults in this country were poor but Carefull, a play devised and performed by service users, left me appalled.

The play, organised by Open Up & Act in association with MIND and Time to Change, held its only public showing – before it heads inside mental health institutions – at Dalston’s Arcola Theatre.

Carefull follows the journey of The Patient (played by Thomas Booth) as he is given various mental health diagnoses and eventually sectioned. We are shown the discrimination he suffers as he is kicked out by his landlord and told, by a post office worker who refuses him mental health benefits: ‘Hitler was right about you people’.

The play also looks at the how mental health professionals are often more prepared to prescribe powerful drugs than to explore the individual needs of their patients. A variety of techniques – including physical theatre, poetry and music – were used to explore why this may be (pressure to revert to training as opposed to relying on more human instincts) and how it affects those who find themselves in the mental health system.

There is a brilliant moment when The Patient sits in a chair as three professionals discuss his condition. Nurse Sarah tells Professor Brown ‘he seems to be responding well to medication’. At this point The Patient’s eyes widen in disbelief, a quietly human, completely unnoticed response that crystallises what is happening: someone sensitive being ignored on the matter of their own health. This just would not happen when being treated for a physical injury.

What truly packs a punch in this thoughtful and thought-provoking piece of theatre is that the entire content was taken from the direct experiences of the cast.

Gila Barnett, Project Director at Open Up & Act believes that ‘fear is the biggest thing in mental health discrimination. These problems could happen to anyone and the fact that the boundaries between mental health and wellness are on a spectrum and not clear cut means society fears mental illness and tries to create stronger barriers by focusing on people that do something bad.’

She also said that Open Up & Act had been formed because mentally ill people are usually advised to deal quietly with their problems rather than take action.

John Lake  – who played Professor Brown –  was an actor before he was sectioned for severe depression following a brain tumour. He said:  ‘The more we can make it possible to talk about mental health, the better chance we will give to those who suffer from it.’

The play, which advocates the use of talking and listening therapies, is to be performed as an educational tool inside psychiatric institutions.

Carefull took place at:

The Arcola Theatre
27 Arcola Street
Dalston
E8 2DJ

Box office: 020 7503 1646

To support the activities of Open Up & Act visit the website