Established in 1992, Prime Cut Productions is an independent theatre producing company based in Belfast and is one of Northern Ireland’s critically acclaimed arts organisations.
Prime Cut was started in 1992 with the ambition of creating theatre that held up a mirror to life here, in a post-conflict society, but that had been created in other countries across the world. Our core philosophy is “we are not alone”. Our stories and experiences are shared by many. And so, from the very start, we have made theatre that tells the stories of ordinary people, often caught up in extraordinary events and times. Our CREATE productions have explored seismic global events like wars and political choices, as well as smaller more personal stories, that explore hope and aspiration as well as marginalisation, loneliness and grief, providing audiences here and further afield with platforms and provocations to engage with and consider.
We also run a diverse series of projects through our PARTICIPATE Programme, directly connecting with and providing arts participation opportunities for communities across Northern Ireland. Reflecting the multi-disciplinary artform that is theatre, we have created community choirs, installations, performances, books and films, exploring the life experiences of our participants. While the focus of our community work is not purely mental health, we are based in Belfast and academic studies have reported that Northern Ireland has the highest prevalence of mental illness in the UK, with psychiatric morbidity here 25% higher than in the rest of the UK as well as 25% higher rates of anxiety and depression in the child and youth population. And so, PARTICIPATE has always included subjects that directly explore mental health. Of these I’d like to focus on two: In My Own Words and Well Read.
First developed in the summer of 2020, In My Own Words is a creative writing project designed to engage with women from under-represented communities who were isolated by the pandemic and wanted to engage with the arts online. Over five years it has evolved into a live delivery model that has engaged with over 200 people including Global Majority communities, Travellers, the LGBTQA+ community, refugees and asylum seekers, as well as a group representing participants with a diagnosed mental health status.
Many of the participants experienced real commonalities of experience, not least experiencing vulnerability, isolation, loneliness, and feeling like outsiders. Others have lived with the weight and judgement of others’ definitions, often pejorative, of who they are or might be.
With that in mind, the most recent iteration In My Own Words was themed “Who We Are” and aimed to provide a platform for the participants to tell their stories in a safe, open and inclusive space, in their own words and language. As part of this iteration, we worked with Northern Irish charity, Beyond Personality Differences, which uses art to raise awareness of and challenge stigma around Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). For participants, this was an opportunity to write clearly and truthfully about living with BPD, to dispel the myths, to change the narrative. Just as importantly, it was a chance for us, the reader, to become more educated, more informed about a condition that is far too widely misunderstood and demonised. It was hugely successful and Prime Cut and Beyond Personality Differences are hoping to work together in a specially tailored project in 2026.
The second project, Well Read, was delivered in partnership with The Playground Theatre, London, the original creators of this project. Well Read involves reading theatre plays aloud with Service Users in a range of Mental Health Units in the Northern Health and Social Care Trust.
Each week a play is read, or a new play started. Group members are encouraged to read different characters, changing every few pages. Discussion is encouraged, especially about the themes of the play. The sessions are managed by a theatre practitioner with experience of working with people with mental health issues. Each session lasts approximately 90 minutes to avoid tiredness and fit around mealtimes, medication, and other activities. Well Read provides an opportunity to breathe, to engage in creativity in a relaxing way with no expectations, deadlines or justification – it is pure arts access for the sake of it and herein lies its impact. Service Users/Participants can truly engage in arts activity in a no pressure environment. Anxiety lessens, confidence increases, mental health is strengthened. That it has been so integrated into the programmes of the various Units we have partnered with speaks volumes about the difference the work has made.
Despite being created in some challenging environments, both In My Own Words and Well Read have truly been some of the most rewarding projects we have ever delivered. We have worked with, got to know, shared experiences with and really learned from our participants, who generously and bravely shared their stories with us. It has been our pleasure and privilege to work with them and we look forward to many more to come.
For further information visit our website at https://www.primecutproductions.co.uk and feel free to contact us on una@primecutproductions.co.uk – we look forward to hearing from you.
