BEDLAM Arts and Mental Health Festival

A celebration of the arts, mental health and wellbeing

1 in 4 people in the UK experience a mental health problem each year. In England, 1 in 6 people experience a common mental health problem (such as anxiety or depression) each week. So whether you’ve experienced this, or know someone who has, you’re not alone. It’s vital to share your stories – and taking part in the arts is a natural way to do so.

Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, together with Birmingham Repertory TheatreMidlands Arts CentreSampad South Asian Arts and our guest partner Red Earth Collective, are thrilled to bring you a diverse ​programme of world premieres, visual art and film as well as powerful live performance through theatre, spoken word, dance and music. 

The BEDLAM Arts & Mental Health Festival returns this year from 12th – 21st November 2021. It will be the fifth edition and we hope that BEDLAM continues to reduce stigma, and encourages honest discussions around mental health – all with some fantastic performances. Whatever your age or background, there’s something for everyone. Follow the conversation online @BEDLAM_festival and using #BEDLAM2021 We look forward to seeing you there.

Sampad’s commission will shine a spotlight on the inter-generational households and their experiences of Covid-19. We are delighted to have appointed Farrah Chaudhry to research and write this new play which will tour into communities in November. If you want to share your experiences of living with different generations of your family – the highs and the lows and how you think this has impacted on your mental health, do get in touch with us by emailing Ilhan@sampad.org.uk. All contact will be treated confidentially. Keep your eyes peeled for further updates in the coming months!
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South Asian Families – We’d love to hear from you!

No Bond So Strong, BEDLAM Arts and Mental Health Festival 2019

Audience Comment

“Plays and the arts provide people an alternative way to think about mental health instead of through facts and figures. It is a more personable and relatable delivery method”

Collectively in 2019, we were delighted to bring audiences a diverse ​programme of world premieres, visual art and film as well as powerful live performance through spoken word, dance, music and theatre, including our new Sampad production about the journey of new parenthood, No Bond So Strong, written by Olivia Winteringham. We also ran a Chai and Chat event with Birmingham-based, British Pakistani poet and playwright spoken word artist Nafeesa Hamid, who discussed mental health in the context of her own experiences, especially as a BME woman.

A total of 1,163,788 people engaged with BEDLAM Arts and Health Festival 2019, both in person and online.

We hope that BEDLAM Arts and Mental Health Festival continues to reduce stigma, and encourages honest discussions around mental health – all with some fantastic performances. Whatever your age or background, there’s something for everyone.

Download the brochure for BEDLAM Arts and Mental Health Festival 2019.

Find Out More

For future festivals, follow the conversation online on Twitter @BEDLAM_festival and visit the website bedlamfestival.co.uk to learn more and to sign up to the BEDLAM mailing list.

Chai and Chat with Nafeesa Hamid, BEDLAM Arts and Mental Health Festival 2019

This project is in partnership with: