Health Work
I have a BA (hons) in Social Admin and an MA in Social Policy and Health. I worked in a housing/community care setting for ten years. This background coupled with my Comedy and writing experience gives me the required skills to use Comedy in an innovative way. I have a number of ongoing commissioned projects which use humour to raise awareness of social and health issues.
Hurt Until It Laughs. 2004 – Current.
Commissioned by the Leicester Comedy Festival. It sought to find out why men are reluctant to go to the Doctors and what could be done to raise awareness of the problems men face? This has been performed at the Leicester, Edinburgh and Newbury Festivals as well as numerous NHS conferences. The show won an award from the Leicester Comedy festival for being the ‘best Participatory Project’ at the 2007 festival. It featured on Radio 4’s Case Notes in 2004. It also features in the Haynes ‘brain manual’.
Those Young Minds. 2007 - 2009
This was commissioned by YOUNG MINDS a charity in London. The show is about looking at ways of getting Dads more involved with their children and understanding signs of mental unrest. It has been performed at the Soho Theatre, as well as the Leicester and Edinburgh festivals. The show is featured on The Young Minds website as a resource tool. http://www.youngminds.org.uk/videos-and-podcasts/videos/those-youngminds I have also performed excerpts for many Social Services departments. I was featured on Dads Space a website aimed at Dads. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62vfUtFw3dA
Cracking Up. 2008 - Current
Commissioned by the Surrey PCT it looks at raising awareness and challenging the stigma surrounding mental health. http://www.liftthelidproductions.com/gallery_video.html
The show has been performed to sell out Theatres in the Home Counties and attracted the attention of the BBC http://www.liftthelidproductions.com/gallery_video.html as well as the Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2010/apr/22/cracking-up-mental-health-comedy. It tried to tackle the issue of stigma around mental health http://mentalhealthcongress.indigopapa.tv/video.aspx?videoID=3321. It has won the prestigious Health Service Journal Award 2010 for Mental Health and Wellbeing. It continues to attract media attention which prompted a feature on Radio 4’s All in the Mind http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b018csz5. https://www.facebook.com/pages/CRACKING-UP/401717450179
The Home Front 2013
This project looks at the stigma surrounding mental health issues affecting members of HM Armed Forces. A one hour touring show has been seen at bases across the UK. It is the basis for the research paper Modifying attitudes to mental health using comedy as a delivery medium http://hsjcc.on.ca/Resource%20Library/Stigma%20and%20Public%20Perception/Modifying%20attitudes%20to%20mental%20health%20using%20comedy%20as%20a%20delivery%20medium%20-%202014-04.htm
Bringing the Outside In (2009-10)
This show sought to raise awareness of mental health and diversity issues in the UK’s Prison s http://www.filmcrewpro.com/uk/film_view.php?uid=27219. Commissioned by the Home Office John wrote and performed a show that is now used throughout HM’s Prison service. http://www.vimeo.com/13324302 the show was a highly commended award winner At the 2011 Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival
Beyond the Smoking Room 2011 an innovative attempt at tackling the reasons why people with mental health problems smoke. The production also aimed to encourage smokers to
give up http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLjUo1bTo8Y
ohn Ryan’s Health Kicks 2014 Commissioned by Coventry City Council a DVD has been made to raise awareness of health issues and to get people talking about health issues.