Called “Dramatic Recovery”, it is a theatre project in which people who have experienced mental illness create short plays to illustrate the challenges, using theatre to fight stigma and improve services for people who experience this problem.

During the performance, members of the audience will be able to intervene in these plays to find better ways for the community to deal with mental health and mental illness.

Anyone who has ever experienced any form of mental illness is welcome, with no previous acting experience needed. There are no auditions, but there will be a short interview before being accepted into the project.

The plan is to rehearse for six hours a week between late July and early October, and performances will run between October 1 and October 17, to coincide with Mental Health Week in various venues around Canberra.

Best of all, it’s free, and participants will be paid a small fee to cover travel and other expenses.

You’ll need to be quick, contact facilitator Robin Davidson at robin.theatre@gmail.com or phone 0450 960 903, or leave a message at 6230 7629.