To mark Emotional Health Awareness Day, New Vic Borderlines’ Next Chapter and Chapter 2 groups present Things We Don’t Say, Until Now on Wednesday 25 February 2026 at 2.00pm.
Funded by the North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust, New Vic Borderlines’ Next Chapter and Chapter 2 groups for adults and young people struggling with their mental health are designed to increase wellbeing by developing a supportive space where individuals can feel more connected to others in a similar position and build confidence through creative means including theatre techniques and arts-based activities.
Encouraging participants to find their voice through the power of theatre, the Next Chapter group have been working alongside New Vic Borderlines practitioners to devise a new play that reflects their personal mental health journeys whilst offering a hopeful message to others struggling with their emotional wellbeing that difficulties can be overcome.
Exploring themes including identity, belonging, community, social anxieties, expectations, and stigmas attached to mental health issues in men, Things We Don’t Say, Until Now follows on from Next Chapter’s promenade event On The Move which was performed in 2024 and will open with a solo performance by Chapter 2 participant Isiah, who reflects on his experience in the care system, losing a parental figure at a young age and being part of the LGBTQ+ community.
In addition, the groups will also exhibit a range of media that they have been working on throughout the year including images, poetry, paintings, recorded soundscapes and videos alongside contributions from other Borderlines groups including Young People’s Theatre Company, Voices Forward, Strathcross and Girls Can.
Tickets are FREE, but spaces are limited. To book, or for more information, email amahmood@newvictheatre.org.uk or call the Box Office on 01782 717962.