17 May 2022
Diamonds in the Rough, which was written and produced in collaboration with Night Light Theatre Productions, is a response to real conversations and interactions with patients, who shared their experiences of living within Ridgeway in several steering group sessions.
The film explores the themes of compassion, relationships, boundaries, loss, and loneliness, whilst also promoting hope and recovery. It will be used in staff training and inductions, with an aim to offer insight into some of the issues and challenges people face within a secure inpatient facility.
Night Light Theatre Productions provide arts and wellbeing programmes, dramatherapy sessions and create theatre and plays with and for hard-to-reach audiences across the North of England. The company has been working with the secure inpatient service in TEWV since October last year and frequently visited Roseberry Park Hospital to speak to and observe both patients and staff for the purpose of this film.
Night Light Theatre volunteer Lynsey Burke discusses how important the film was for her to be involved with after previously being a patient herself at West Park Hospital in Darlington, in 2016. Lynsey was diagnosed with drug induced psychosis and spent several months in hospital battling with her mental health. She’s praised the help and support she received and the encouragement from her recovery worker and sponsor to “join activities in the community”.
She said: “I saw an advert for the theatre group just as I was starting my recovery and decided to give it a try. The workshops taught me how to have fun and gave me a space to be myself and self-reflect. Fast-forward to 2020 and I joined as a volunteer and began working with the team to produce plays. When I had the chance to work on this project in collaboration with TEWV, I felt empowered to help create something important for service users as it links so strongly with my own experience and feelings.”
I am so grateful to have been part of the project and it’s helped me immensely on my recovery journey. Your voice really does matter, and my piece of advice would be to be open and honest and don’t be afraid to ask for the help you need.
Lynsey Burke, Night Light Theatre volunteer
Night Light Theatre company director, Sarah Rumfitt, said: “Everyone we met in the steering group was instantly able to share open and honest feedback about their experiences. Nothing felt filtered and so we managed to quickly gain insight into some of the challenges. This was encouraged by supportive staff members who were clearly passionate about what they do, open to change and exploring different ways of doing things.”
It was important that those at the heart of the project had the ultimate say about the resource. We wanted to know if it was accurate, representative and that service users were happy. They have been involved in this whole process, including tasks such as choosing actors for the film and deciding on the name.
Sarah Rumfitt, Night Light Theatre Company Director
The first screening of the film took place earlier this month in Ridgeway with staff, service users and Trust chief executive, Brent Kilmurray, in attendance. The event opened with service users reading poems and talking about what the film meant for them, whilst enjoying a cinema styled experience with nachos, hotdogs, and popcorn.
The characters are brilliant in representing a very full range of topics. It is hard hitting and sets out what is good and what is not always right. The film is an opportunity for people to watch, think and reflect from.
Brent Kilmurray, TEWV Chief Executive
Consultant forensic psychologist and associate director of therapies for secure inpatient services and health and justice, Claire Bainbridge, said: “I am really proud of this piece of work that we have undertaken with Night Light Theatre Productions. The authenticity of the film has only been achieved through co-creation and collaboration and will help foster compassion and understanding of our service users’ experience. I am confident that the film provides an exciting opportunity for us to prepare and support staff for their work in secure services and the delivery of excellent patient care.”
