W&T have shown that laughter really can be the best medicine as its Community Comedy Club wins the Big Ideas Bonanza.

The Big Idea Bonanza – a campaign seeking ideas to improve the health of residents in Birmingham and Solihull – has announced Women & Theatre’s ‘Community Comedy Club’ as the winner of its inaugural award.

W&T’s Community Comedy Club was developed in 2010/11 in partnership with Stanhope Hall Community Centre. It consisted of 4 community comedy courses each culminating in a Comedy Night, where community participants performed their own material alongside a professional headline act  and host Mrs. Barbara Nice, the well loved comedy alter ego of W&T’s Artistic Director Janice Connolly. The courses were very successful with participants reporting raised self esteem and confidence and Comedy Events attracting large audiences and fantastic feedback.

The Big Idea Bonanza prize includes a package of support from The Young Foundation to develop the project further and maximise its potential to:

• Tackle low level mental health issues such as anxiety and depression
• Remove barriers of isolation and loneliness
• Develop new approaches in mental health
• Encourage social inclusion in health, education and the wider community
• Raise confidence and self-esteem
• Provide new opportunities for genuine social engagement

Eleanor Cappell, Social Entrepreneur in Residence at the Birmingham and Solihull NHS Cluster, who managed and ran the Big Ideas Bonanza said  “I and my colleagues at the Young Foundation look forward to working with the ‘Women & Theatre’ team over the coming months developing their ventures sustainability, scalability and impact measurement tools.”

Our Community Comedy Club has been incredibly successful, making a huge impact on individuals’ lives and uniting the Highgate community. We are thrilled to have won this award and have the opportunity to work with The Young Foundation to explore sustainable ways of developing the project, ensuring the benefits of laughter can reach more people in a range of contexts.

Regular cervical screening is essential for all women, yet there is a low rate of take-up of screening services in the Black Country. By demystifying the screening process and encouraging women to talk about their feelings, The Cervical Monologues aims to ensure that women are informed about their own health needs and empowered to take up screening appointments.

With the support of Dudley PCT, Women & Theatre’s Janice Connolly and Melisa Harrison have performed additional research with GPs and community groups to explore issues around the take-up of cervical screening services. From the research, Janice will write four new monologues to incorporate into the existing script, and increase the local relevance and impact of the piece. With these new voices that really reflect the local opinions in Dudley, the tour will aim to spark discussions about overcoming real and perceived barriers to accessing cervical screening services for Dudley’s diverse communities.

This is a great example of how W&T’s flexible and in-depth scripts can be used and adapted within local contexts. If you’re interested in a similar project, whether with Cervical Monologues or any of our other plays, please do drop us a line.

Thursday 4th March, 12.45pm @ St Thomas’s Network, Beechwood Road, DY2 7AQ
Friday 5th March, 12.45pm @ Lye Community Centre, Cross Walks Road, DY9 8BH
Wednesday 10th March, 12.45pm @ St James Medical Practice, Malthouse Drive, DY1 2BY
Everyone living in Dudley is welcome, but please book for groups of 5 or more on 0121 440 4203.