My name is Jennifer Whittaker-Vyse and I am the writer and director at Penkhull Players. Penkhull Players is an all inclusive community theatre group. Since 2009 we have put on pantomime at Penkhull Village Hall including all members from the community from as young as 4 years to 84 years. This will be the first year we are unable to bring this live to our faithful audiences. That wasn't going to stop us. Myself and Debbie Rowley-Harris have been working hard to write and produce a virtual panto to bring a much needed smile during these difficult times. We have all come to realise how much we rely on the pantomime and how it lightens our life and shares our stresses and worries. We also know the confidence, friendship and self-esteem it brings to our youth chorus. 

The past year has shone a light on how important, and integral mental health is to each and every one of us, and to bring a little joy to your lives we wanted to create this show, even if we couldn’t be with you in person.

However, even before the pandemic – we knew that there was a mental health crisis happening with young people.

We live in a country where the number of young people presenting at A&E with urgent mental health needs has tripled in the last ten years, where a quarter of young women have a diagnosable mental health problem and where suicide is the single biggest killer of boys  and young men. And these figures do not yet factor in the devastating impact of the coronavirus pandemic and the tsunami of mental health struggles we anticipate as a result. The crisis in young people’s mental health is well publicised. But behind each and every one of these statistics is a real life – a young person who urgently needs help. Far, far too often, these young people are simply not getting that help. And for many, it is already too late.

But YoungMinds are changing this.

YoungMinds are creating a movement to stop young people’s mental health reaching crisis point, and their vision is a world where no young person feels alone with their mental health.

We’re really proud to be supporting them by asking for donations of this performance to go towards their mission, so please if you are able donate via the JustGiving link below:

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/penkhullplayers

The true character of a society is revealed in how it treats its children.

To find out more about YoungMinds and details about their free parents helpline check out their website, link below:

https://youngminds.org.uk/find-help/for-parents/parents-helpline/

Thank you so much for watching and we cannot wait to see you all in
person next year.