We sat down with the cast of No Bond So Strong this week for a chat – here’s a 30 second round up from our cast and creative team.
“It’s so important to ask for help…you must ask for help”
Promila Thomas, who plays a relative of the new mother in No Bond So Strong
“I have been involved in another mental health project which gave out a similar message about mental health, specifically within the South Asian community.
It is important to actually ask for help, and not brush it under the carpet. In South Asian families there is a worry about mental illness – What will people say if they find out that this is happening inside our homes? So there’s a stigma, that’s the biggest worry they have, they worry about what people will think about them.
The truth is, it is possible for anyone to go through mental illness, and that’s what this show is about – addressing mental illness in mothers during pregnancy and after the birth.”
No Bond So Strong opens Thursday 3rd October , 7pm as part of BEDLAM Arts & Mental Health Festival
“Build that awareness of perinatal depression as early as possible, and catch it as early as possible!”
Alex Kapila plays the Psychiatrist in No Bond So Strong
“I was excited about this role because it’s three women, three women who are older than in their 20(s), and three women talking about something serious, and not talking about boys!
“This has been a real eye opener for me, recognising that the play wasn’t about postnatal depression. It was very specifically about perinatal depression….Perinatal depression is depression experienced during pregnancy, not just after baby’s been born (postnatal depression).
“In my previous life, I used to work as a business consultant, and I specialised in change management, crisis management, communications in culture. A lot of the work that I did was talking to people about identifying the right problem….and that’s what really struck me with this play was that it’s almost, it almost felt like talking about postnatal depression was a little bit too late, you know, we really should start to use the right terms and get people aware, make people aware of the fact that it can start a lot earlier.
“Build that awareness of perinatal depression as early as possible, and catch it as early as possible! So it doesn’t develop into anything more serious. It sounds really simple….but there are so many people that don’t know what perinatal even means. Based on what I’ve seen, up until the baby’s born, the mother is the most important thing, everybody’s attention is focused on the mother…. once the baby has arrived, the attention and support tends to shift to baby. So we need to start thinking about the mother’s mental health and well-being, especially beyond the pregnancy, to ensure she gets the attention and support she needs throughout…as a preventative measure, before we reach crisis mode!”
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