For a number of years Croydon MIND ran a drama group on a Monday morning where members would play games, read scripts and occasionally perform script-in-hand shows to other MIND hub users on-site.
In 2023 the wonderful, but sadly now gone, SAVVY Theatre ran a project through London Borough of Culture to include this group in a huge community production of Pinocchio at Fairfield Halls in December 2024.
This was a huge success, but despite the obvious benefits to the group, no continuation funding could be found. Good Wolf had been involved with SAVVY’s Pinocchio and with the drama group (who during this time named themselves Peace of MiND) and took on running the group on a voluntary basis, whilst seeking funding.
Thanks to The National Lottery Community Fund and MIND, the project is now fully funded with additional in-house support until 2026.
The original group, which had about 6 core members, plus a wider casual membership, has grown to around 20 core members, and still has many more part time attendees. In that first year they developed the skills and confidence to move from script-in-hand sharing with friends to performing without scripts in front of 900 people at Fairfield. And since the new funding was secured they have devised their first play, Transported – an exploration of the impact of public transport on mental health – which was performed under the Croydon Bites strand of the Croydonites Fringe Festival 2024.
Peace of MiND are currently devising their summer comedy, so watch this space for more information…
