Dialogue

I went to see Reasons to Stay Alive at the LBT with Dwell Time’s bibliotherapy partners Words in Mind last night. The theatre production is based on the book of the same title by Matt Haig. The on stage dialogue emphasises both the internal monologue in Matt’s head at the time in two characters: Younger Matt and Older Matt as well as lived dialogue with Matt’s family about him and to him in varying degrees. The message of the play is clear as well: talking helps. After the show, there was an audience Q&A with two cast members and some representatives from Andy’s Mans Club, chaired by the director of HOOT, a local arts and mental health charity. The problem with this Q&A was the panel was on stage and not mic’d up and questions from the floor not mic’d either. However, this post-performance Q&A is a really valuable format to enable a dialogue about the issues brought up.