During P1 on Friday 17th October, all our year 8 students watched a performance by Upfront Theatre Company called “In Harm’s Way”.
The production started withan introduction to clarify some of the facts, figures and myths surrounding mental health.
The play follows the friendship of three year 9 students over a two-year period. It explores mental health, coping mechanisms and emotional well-being. Through separate struggles with self-harm and risky behaviour in various forms including drugs, alcohol and online relationships, they explore the dangers, consequences and help available for some of these problems.
Following the play, the actors facilitated a 30-minute post-show lecture. They went through the main issues and identified any questions prompted by the story. They replayed key scenes from the play and invited students to impart advice to a character putting herself in risky situations by experimenting with drugs, alcohol and online relationships.
They explored in further detail a scene between two friends - one is struggling with his emotional wellness and feeling sad, but his friend feels uncomfortable and unsure how to help. Students had the opportunity to suggest actions to help each character and explore the role and level of responsibility of the friend as well as the person struggling."