From stage to SPACE
SPACE is a mobile wellbeing room shaped by the people that occupy it. Local people who might not usually meet, come together to take time for themselves. It’s a celebration and a place to just be for a while – without expectation.
SPACE was born out of a desire to support and safeguard audience members attending Declaration, our award-winning one-woman play, which explored Sarah Emmott’s experience of seeking diagnosis for adult ADHD.
SPACE eased the transition between the heightened emotion of the show and re-entering the outside world. The response was unprecedented, with large numbers of the audience spending over an hour in SPACE – unwinding, connecting, creating, growing and taking time together. Across two tours of Declaration 1,528 people made use of SPACE.
Everywhere we travelled on the Declaration tour, audience members told us SPACE was just what they needed and asked if they could have more of it. “It is the sort of place I didn’t realise I needed until I got here.”
So, in 2017, SPACE transitioned and expanded leaving its familiar home in the theatre and ventured out into new spaces in a wide range of settings: appearing in theatre dressing rooms; the corners of bars, cafes, libraries, town halls; on a patch of grass in a supported housing complex; on a nature reserve; in Santa’s Grotto.
Over the next 2 years we made over 20 outings, visiting each of the 10 boroughs of Greater Manchester: spending quality time with over 700 residents and working to inspire awareness, growth and connection within wellbeing and self-care. However, with the onset of COVID-19 early in 2020, SPACE found itself unexpectedly packed up into suitcases, gathering dust…
which led to……
SPACE online
We can’t tour right now and while we don’t expect this website to be a replacement for the in-person experience, in the spirit of SPACE we wanted to do something, no matter how small…
As you have a look around the site, you are invited to reflect on this sentiment:
What if, from this day forward, each of us dedicated ourselves to becoming wellbeing athletes – to taking a considered and active approach to looking after our own wellbeing; as well as taking a collective role in looking after the wellbeing of those we encounter – both on a personal, individual level but also as theatres, schools, colleges, workplaces? Would our health (mental & physical) be better for it? Would the world be better for it?
Perhaps it isn’t so much about responsibility or duty of care, but is about something much more simple, more intrinsically human –
Where we can, when we can, could we look after each other better?
Click here to explore SPACE onlineSupport
Please note: This website has been designed as a space for you to dedicate time to your wellbeing. It contains links to mental health support services on the resources pages, however, it is not a dedicated mental health service.
If you need support or are experiencing a mental health crisis please follow these links- How to Get Help in a Crisis & Urgent Help.
