Northern artists shine in Toxic – a play about friendships and mental health

It originally started as a workshop exercise in 2019 on the playwriting module at The University of Salford, where I studied Creative Writing. We were given the setting of two friends sitting on top of a dam, which over time became the opening scene with Andy and James sitting on a motorway bridge. 

At its heart, the story is about two best friends and their crumbling friendship.

Of course, mental health and possessing the language to speak up about mental health, or in their case, not possessing the language permeates through the script.

I unfortunately have had friends who have suffered badly with mental health, with a handful of them attempting to take their own lives. 

Over time, I infused the script with real experiences and made the show a dark comedy, which I think is important as men use comedy to both mask and navigate themselves through awkward and difficult issues.

We won a couple of awards in our debut run in 2021, and got a fantastic audience response.

We wanted to bring Toxic back now to add once again to an urgent discourse around mental health, at a time when the North West has the highest suicide rate in the UK.

Packaging a very pressing social agenda with an entertaining show that will hopefully stick in the memory.

Why do you think that some men do not speak about their problems to other men?

It’s such a multi-faceted issue that changes with different factors like age, social class and geography.

I don’t want to pretend that I am an expert on the issue, but I think broadly there is still the widespread societal expectation that men have to be strong and provide for their families/loved ones.

I also think that externally, we can recognise the symptoms and indicators of poor mental health, but internally, to the sufferer, that perspective isn’t shared.

Recognising your own bad mental health for what it is at a distance, as opposed to being entangled in it and unable to distance yourself, is a rare privilege that usually occurs with hindsight.

Men, in my lived experience, are experts of the subliminal. We can talk about serious issues like mental health without ever saying the words directly.

I suspect this is a defence mechanism to protect themselves from the horror of spilling all aloud, but also means that if they are challenged or ridiculed, it’s easy to deny. In the play, what is not said is as important as what is said, and the characters operate in those two distinct spaces. 

However, there has been a steady increase in the number of suicides registered in the UK since 2022.

We are still in a mental health crisis, and the cost of living crisis has exacerbated this. There can’t be enough discussion about mental health.

The locality of the crisis is particularly concerning in the North West, and through Toxic, we encourage everyone to come and join the discussion and hopefully equip themselves with the means to check in those around them.

What do you want audiences to take away from the play?

That it’s okay to talk, in fact, it might just save a life. Discussions around mental health aren’t all doom and gloom, they can be funny too. Humour is something we do best.

What do you love about Manchester?

Great pubs, the wonderfully diverse community, San Juan in Chorlton, the music, and Fletcher Moss Botanical Gardens.

Would’ve said The Ruby Lounge but it’s sadly closed now. I met my fiance’ Em there and they hosted fantastic Northern Soul nights. I miss it dearly.

Lastly, why should people come and see Toxic?

As a show, Toxic has never been more relevant.

It’s a hilarious and delicate story with characters that we all recognise from our own lives, performed by an all northern powerhouse cast.

It’s a story of the people, for the people, set in Greater Manchester.

We guarantee lots of laughter, maybe some tears, and a healthy dose of trifle too. 

Tickets to see Toxic

You have two chances to see Toxic in Manchester. In October and November.

Saturday 19th October at the Octagon Theatre, Bolton (book here) or Thursday 21st of November at the Edge in Chorlton (book here)