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Drama workshops & performances to mark closure of St Clement’s Hospital
Red Rose Chain Film and Theatre Company is set to mark the closure of St Clement’s Hospital in Ipswich with a series of workshops and public performances, supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund...
Working closely with Inside Out Community and Suffolk Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust, Red Rose Chain has formed a new and exciting project partnership to explore the history and the significance of St Clement’s Hospital to the local community throughout its 140 year existence.
Through creative workshops with St Clement’s staff, patients and members of the local community, Red Rose Chain will collect stories and memories whilst gently exploring themes surrounding the closure of one of the last former Victorian asylums in the country.
We’ll be leading creative workshops in the lead up to the event to allow people to contribute their own memories and influence a final theatre and film production to commemorate St Clement’s Hospital.
We’re inviting all users of St Clement’s Hopsital to contribute to a new professional theatre production to mark the end of an era. Staff, patients and members of the local community are invited to attend a taster session on Tuesday 29th November from 12pm to 2pm at Gippeswyk Hall and share their stories about St Clement’s Hospital.
The workshops and performances will engage with issues surrounding mental health and look at society’s changing perception and attitudes towards the patients and the institution itself.
Julie Garton from Red Rose Chain has been recording local people’s recollections of St Clement’s Hospital to inspire a new piece of creative writing. She revealed; “Not all of the stories I’ve heard have been happy ones. Some are dark and full of suffering. But many of the stories are humorous…The stories give a tantalising glimpse into the community that has spent 140 years sheltered behind the tall trees on Foxhall Road.”
There will also be a series of creative writing and textiles workshops taking place as part of the project. For more information visit the Suffolk Mental Health Partnership website
The former Ipswich Borough Asylum St Clement's Hospital has been helping people with mental health problems since it first opened in 1870 and is one of the few remaining Victorian asylums in the country.
For more information or to book a place at the taster session, please contact Assistant Producer Michael Linge on 01473 603388 or email info@redrosechain.com