Children and young people from across Liverpool will come together to perform in the city’s fifth annual NOW Festival. Organised and directed by Merseyside Youth Association’s (MYA) mental health promotion team, in partnership with Liverpool Child Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), Liverpool Cultural Education Partnership and the Arts Council, the festival will take place over four nights at the Epstein Theatre. Hundreds of children and young people from schools, clubs and youth groups across Liverpool will deliver a range of dramatic performances, exploring the theme of ‘Mental health and belonging’.This year’s festival will showcase a mixture of drama, dance, musical theatre and film, all exploring the life-long effects of childhood; questioning how it affects our mental health.The NOW festival aims to engage young people in a creative discussion around the topic of mental health, through whatever ‘NOW’ issue is chosen by the team and young people’s steering group.The aims of the event are to:
•Empower young people to challenge the stigma about mental health
•Educate young people about mental health
•To give them a voice and an active lead role in devising their pieces
•Knowledge and ownership on the NOW issue and how these can affect mental health
•Build confidence and self-esteem by taking part in the process/performing on stage
•Ultimately, have fun and enjoy the whole process of talking about mental health and the NOW theme whilst challenging stigma.
