Tag: Mental Health

REVIEW – Devizes Arts Festival – Dr. Phil Hammond @ Corn Exchange  3rd June 2024

by Andy Fawthrop

The Doctor Will See You Now!

Devizes Arts Festival has already got off to a storming start over this last weekend, with performances on Friday from Jolly Roger, Saturday from Lady Nade, and on Sunday from Adam Alexander and Eddy Allen. Some of these we’ve already reviewed here.

So now it’s rolled round to Monday, and it’s time to head out into the first mid-week dates, with a whole variety of stuff to choose from.  Last night, and first up of the spoken word big hitters, it was the turn of Dr. Phil Hammond at The Corn Exchange.

I wasn’t sure if was a comment on the current difficulty of getting a GP appointment, but Dr. Phil’s waiting room was pretty full, with people eagerly awaiting a consultation with the famous doctor.

Phil is an NHS doctor, journalist, broadcaster, speaker, campaigner and comedian. He currently works at the Bath RUH in a specialist NHS team for young people with long Covid.  Born in the NHS (a slogan emblazoned on his t-shirt, and frequently referenced throughput the set), and brought up in Australia (the Ozzie twang was unmistakeable), he worked in general practice for over twenty years, and has also worked in sexual health. A familiar voice on BBC Radio 4, he has also presented five series of “Trust Me, I’m a Doctor” on BBC2, encouraging patients to be more involved, assertive and questioning. And finally (a major feather in his cap in my book) he’s also Private Eye’s medical correspondent, where he broke the story of the Bristol heart scandal in 1992.

Phil’s “surgery” consisted of two sets – “How To Fix The NHS”’ and “The Ins And Outs Of Pleasure”. 

The first half consisted of both commentary on the NHS, and Dr. Phil’s ideas on how it might be improved.  Using both his own and patient-generated ideas, the best of which was “force all MPs and Health Service professionals receive all their treatment in the worst-performing hospitals”, and plenty of enthusiastic audience participation, he addressed current issues in a positive light.  His key messages were “prevention rather than cure” (more investment needed upstream) and our individual responsibility for personal health.  His model, and mnemonic for the night was (of all things) CLANGERS, which provides daily prompts on healthy behaviour.  I might be making it sound a little dry, but it was very far from it.  He often had the audience in stitches (is this allowed? – Ed. Ed’s note; any passing tumbleweeds are your own responsibility, Andy!), with his “hierarchy of cricketing euphemisms” for death (“taken the short walk to the pavilion”), and a gob-smacking tale of “euthanasia by cling-film”. 

The delivery was fast, yet calm, with a take-no-prisoners attitude.  He was self-deprecating, often admitting to his own mistakes (predicting that Covid would cause less deaths than people falling down the stairs) and failures (pronouncing a patient to be dead, who subsequently turned out to be very much alive).  There were plenty of anecdotes from his times as a trainee and a junior whilst at Medical School, quite enough to shock the bejesus out of the audience.

If anything, the second half was even better.  Having posted a trigger warning that it would be quite a bit more graphic and near the bone, it did not disappoint.  “The Ins and Outs of Pleasure” did what it said on the tin, and addressed issues of sex, orgasms, masturbation and self-pleasuring.  The language was fruity and devoid of euphemism, and soon had the audience squirming with embarrassed nervous laughter.  Being a consummate professional performer, the doctor correctly “read the room” and sensing that he was perhaps pushing a Monday night audience in D-Town a little too far, very subtly applied the brakes to some of the tougher stuff.  Side-stepping his material via some more personal history, we were soon transitioned into the slightly safer territory of “consensual cannibalism”, the value of having a dog for good mental self-pleasuring, and the joy of “fuck-it Fridays”.  But there was still plenty of time on the side for useful medical advice on the use of cock-rings (get the ones with handles), and things not to put into human orifices.

The general prescription issued last night was for taking control of, and responsibility for, your own mental and physical health.  And my personal takeaway arrived almost at the end of the set– “laughter is the best medicine – unless you have syphilis, in which case penicillin is a better bet”.  Priceless.

A cracking night’s entertainment – informative, interesting, and absolutely hilarious.  Another great choice by DAF to bring such performing talent to our town.

If you’d like more info, you can find it at www.drphilhammond.com

The Devizes Arts Festival continues until Sunday 16th June at various venues around the town. 

Tickets can be booked at Devizes Books or online at www.devizesartsfestival.org.uk 

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Film Review: Translations

by Helen Edwards

For those that are too busy to read this film review and to help our tech-conditioned ‘keep-it-quick’ minds please see the one liner below: 

“A raw portrayal of the depths that a mental illness can reach with a glimpse of the impact on others and the eventual hope that can lead to recovery”

Or, if you’ve a few more seconds, read the Tweet-length review here:

“A reflective, unsettling film depicting mental ill health, grief and two people coming together to heal. Kate Morgan-Jones’ performance brings depth and skill with a brilliantly realistic scene showing a crisis episode. Walls are broken down and agoraphobia is given a platform for understanding”

I suspect I’ve lost a few of you. For those still reading, thank you. Here is the full lowdown of ‘Translations’, the black and white, romantic, mental health exposé drama set in Wales:  

Most of my reviews are pretty long and I apologise each time I link one to a social media account. But I won’t change the length. Well, not for now at least.  To write only a short piece would be a disservice to the people who have put their soul into the work. They deserve a full debrief for the hours and cash that they’ve ploughed in, usually with no guarantee of success.  It takes a risk-taker and an entrepreneur, with often an activist’s determination to see a creative project through to the finish. This is especially true of a feature film where the stakes are higher than most other forms. Add to that a focus on topics that are vital but are difficult to portray, and you have a true passion-project worthy of review words.  ‘Translations’ by director, Keith Kopp and writer, Laurence Guy is one such project. 

From the opening scene where Stef, the main character, performed her poignant poem ‘Walls’, my gut was stilled into a contemplative but not wholly comfortable quiet.  It was going to be one of those – a film that would take the viewer on a ride through dark, complex emotions. An internal rollercoaster where I knew I would be swirled through loop-the-loops of mental anguish.  I wasn’t sure I was ready for this.  Whispering, ‘please let it have a happy ending’ to myself, I sipped my tea and carried on.

Stef is in her twenties. She writes, talks to herself (who doesn’t?), and hasn’t left her house in a long time (years).  Her beloved brother, Liam died whilst travelling with his best friend Evan (Alan Emrys). The story of how this happened is pieced together throughout the film. Stef’s mental health, which wasn’t great before, suffered hugely after his death with agoraphobia now ruling her reality. A few segments into the movie, and after a long absence, Evan arrives at Stef’s Welsh cottage.  His presence transformed her walled-in existence. Laughter and chemistry ensued with the pair reminiscing shared childhood and teen memories. But close behind came an open window into the mental torment that gripped both characters.  Morgan-Jones’ portrayal of an acute mental health crisis in Evan’s company was sublime and harrowing.  The contradictory nature of desperately wanting help yet vehemently pushing it away and the deep shame that followed gave a true insight into an illnesses of the mind.

Evan, whilst trying to help Stef also gave many clues to his own health problems. These stemmed from his guilt at Liam’s death and his wanting to be invisible; to “soak into the walls so no one can see me… like a ghost”. Grief washed over them both and at times the feeling of angst ping-pongs between them with a competitive hue. A game of ‘who’s the most miserable?’ Stef and Evan share grief, mental health challenges and both feel trapped; one indoors and the other behind a camera. I was often left wondering, can the troubled really help the troubled?

I instantly questioned why the movie was in black and white. The answer revealed itself in an early scene which showed a framed picture hanging on Stef’s wall of a barren, lonely tree (seen a number of times during the film). Devoid of colour with all life stripped away, the tree evoked a feeling of isolated fear. I think many of us felt a version of this during the most stringent lockdown weeks of 2020, our own surface-level insight into agoraphobia. Black and white also gives a greater intensity and emotional impact on screen; the viewer needs to look closer for meaning and work harder for understanding. I wasn’t sure at first. I don’t love having to work whilst being entertained and I really did want to see the colour of the delicious sounding curry, but I became convinced that it was 100% the best choice of medium for ‘Translations’. I would have loved to see colour creep in towards the end during Stef’s transformation but perhaps this would have been too obvious, I’m no film director.

Other aspects of the movie that caught my attention included the film’s score. It created a strong ambience throughout and, along with the dialogue, dramatised the emotion and helped to share powerful messages. A slow, heavy beat often preceded a philosophical musing from one of the characters whilst the crescendoing thud-thud-thud staccato made me feel Stef’s anxieties as if they were my own. A stand out visual moment from the film that made me smile was seeing Evan rolling and smoking a cigarette. It made me reflect that despite the number of people who smoke ‘rollies’ we hardly ever see the ritualised making of them on screen. Parts of the film that will stay with me are readings of the ‘Walls’ and the ‘Line in the Sand’ poems. ‘Walls’ was performed twice in the movie and in a clever, circular finish, ‘Line in the Sand’ bought the film to its close. I would love these poem clips to go viral to illustrate what agoraphobia can feel like and to help people feel less alone and more hopeful.

Please go and see this film. You won’t come away feeling lighter but you will have a glimpse into a mental health challenge that, in its most severe form, affects well over a million people in the UK. Kate Morgan-Jones’ performance is believable, haunting and impactful. She understands the torment, the struggle and the complexity that accompanies mental health conditions and she shows this in every scene. The film has lingered in my mind and has got me thinking about all those conditions we know about but build walls around. Watch this movie to start breaking down these walls, to transform our ignorance into understanding and to help our neighbours, friends and families feel less alone and “locked inside (themselves)”. Please support this film and perhaps then we will begin to see more pictures that educate and give true insight into mental illness. Thank you ‘Translations’ for opening my eyes a little wider.

Written on 24/05/23 by Helen L Edwards
@helenledwards4

Awards:
Riverside Film Festival 2023 (Audience Choice Award for Best Feature Film, Best Actress, Best Screenplay)

‘Translations’ tour:
Screenings start on the 2nd June in Wales. It reaches The Little Theatre in Bath on the 25th June and the Melksham Film Club on the 30th June

For Tickets:
https://www.kwkopp.com/

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