To mark the climax of Mental Health Awareness Week 2023, the company of the Olivier-nominated international stage sensation THE CHOIR OF MAN announces details of a year-long fundraising partnership with mental health and suicide prevention charity Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM). TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE TO BOOK HERE
The aim of the partnership is to raise over £10,000 for the charity’s vital work – which is enough to fund over 1000 conversations via CALM’s life-saving helpline.
Every week in the UK, 125 people take their own lives. 75% of those people will be men, making suicide the biggest killer of men under 50. CALM exists to change this by offering life-saving services, provoking national conversation, and bringing people together to reject living miserably. The Choir of Man is an uplifting celebration of community and friendship, with one of the key messages being the vital importance of men coming together to open up and share their struggles, whilst enjoying a pint and a chat.
Audiences will have the chance to support the partnership in various ways – both whilst purchasing a ticket, with QR code donation points in the Arts Theatre, collections on select performances and a Text2Donate opportunity that will be highlighted during The Poet’s closing monologue.
The company of the show will also be offered support and advocacy opportunities by the charity, with a CALM Champion workshop.
Simon Gunning, CEO of Campaign Against Living Miserably said “We’re absolutely thrilled The Choir of Man are flying the CALM flag and raising money to fund our lifesaving services. Although the show is incredibly entertaining, it also contains a poignant message about the importance of men looking out for each other and how the pub provides a wonderful sense of community. It’s a message we’re passionate about because too many men are dying by suicide and this needs to change. Asking a mate out for a pint really can make all the difference.”
An uplifting celebration of community and friendship with something for everyone… including free beer! Enjoy 90 minutes of feel-good, foot-stomping entertainment unlike anything else in the West End.
Brimming with hits from artists such as Queen, Luther Vandross, Sia, Paul Simon, Adele, Guns & Roses, Avicii and Katy Perry to name but a few. A wildly talented group of incredible instrumentalists, world-class wordsmiths, and sensational singers; this cast of nine (extra)ordinary guys serve it all…live!
THE CHOIR OF MAN has previously played three sell-out seasons at the Sydney Opera House and multiple sold-out US and European tours. Following its last run at the Arts Theatre from October 2021 to April 2022, it received an Olivier nomination for Best Entertainment or Comedy Play, and then went on to play in Coventry as part of the City of Culture Assembly Festival season and at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Ben Norris – who wrote the monologues for The Choir of Man and originated the role of ‘The Poet’ said,
“The show is so unapologetically feel-good that whatever kind of mood you arrive in at the theatre, it’s impossible not to leave with a smile on your face and a spring in your step. And that goes for the cast as well as the audience!
Whether we’re conscious of it or not, when we meet a friend in the pub for a pint, it’s often simply the company we’re after. This is especially true, I think, for men. Although things are starting to shift, we still find it much harder to open up and to ask for help. We’re still taking our own lives at a far higher rate. The lockdowns and the helplessness of the pandemic hugely exacerbated this, and the imminent cost of living crisis will only worsen it further.
As a male voice choir, we wanted to make a show that brings joy to people – a show that is fun and frivolous and silly and a bloody good night out, but also one that speaks to some of those difficulties we face, and that gently questions what masculinity might look like in 2022.
Above all, we wanted to make a show that puts an arm around people, of all genders, and invites them to either forget their troubles for an evening or to share them. Sometimes it’s literally life-saving.”
THE CHOIR OF MAN is created by Nic Doodson and Andrew Kay, directed by Nic Doodson, with musical supervision, vocal arrangements and orchestrations by Jack Blume, movement direction and choreography by Freddie Huddleston, monologues written by Ben Norris, scenic design by Oli Townsend, lighting design by Richard Dinnen, costume design and associate scenic design by Verity Sadler, sound design by Sten Severson, casting by Debbie O’Brien. Hollie Cassar serves as musical director and associate musical supervisor, and Rachel Chapman serves as associate choreographer.
The show is produced by Immersive Everywhere, Nic Doodson, Andrew Kay, Wendy & Andy Barnes, Gavin Kalin and Hunter Arnold.
Website: choirofmanwestend.com