This is the discussion strand for Assembly 2 - there will be pics, vids and all info. regarding the project taking place on Friday 4th May 2012.

Watch this space for more info.... 

National Theatre Wales new democratically elected Assembly project will be taking place in Carmarthen. The winning idea is to create a performance debate event in a former mental health hospital. By highlighting the history of the building and stories of it's former patients, current local NHS issues will be to brought to the fore. How does the community feel about changes to local NHS services?

How does the community feel about changes to local NHS services? 

One in four people are affected by mental illness.
9 out of 10 people with mental illness face stigma and discrimination.

As a community, do we know enough about mental illness? Our aim is to tackle the issues surrounding this by exploring the history of St David’s Hospital, the former lunatic asylum in Carmarthen. Through theatre, we want to encourage discussion and debate about how views on mental health has changed and what could be done to further improve this for everyone. Do we know enough so that we could support family or friends if they were affected by mental health issues? Also, with the government currently making big changes to the NHS, we feel that awareness is needed to ensure that the NHS reforms make mental health services better, not worse. Do we know enough so that we can improve the stigma and discrimination that people with mental health problems face?

The question is not just ‘Do we know?’ but ‘Do we know enough?’