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Toxic - a play on men's mental health

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Toxic is a play that explores the issues of men's mental health, toxic masculinity and suicide.  This project is vital and hyper-relevant as men account for 75% of all UK suicides, an inclining figure through COVID-19 lockdowns. Toxic will be
performed over three nights at The Lauriston Studio, part of The Altrincham
Garrick Playhouse on the 6th, 7th and 9th September. The play will use four professional actors and early-career artists as crew, advised by professional artists and theatre makers. Toxic is aimed primarily at men between the ages of eighteen to fifty-nine. By both setting and staging the play in Greater Manchester, we aim to normalise this conversation in working-class communities where conventional masculinity and the ‘man-up’ mentality are not consistently challenged. Staging Toxic during Fringe Festival will provide a platform for accessible discussion for diverse audiences across Greater Manchester and a renowned stage to highlight mental health as a hyper-local issue. COVID-19 has reinforced the importance of being proactive in addressing issues happening on our doorstep. Once we have performed at Fringe, we aim to take Toxic to as many communities across the UK as possible.

One of the reasons we chose The Lauriston Studio is because of the strong
sense of community in the area. We want the audience to feel compelled to
check in with their neighbour, as we fluctuate in and out of lengthy isolation
periods. We want to enhance a sense of collective care and compassion for
their neighbours, to identify and challenge what they perceive to be their own
and others' weaknesses. Also, to open a safe space for them to confront
uncomfortable feelings and to gain knowledge into some ways of overcoming
them as individuals and as a community.

As Fringe was postponed last year, we have had to wait until this September to bring Toxic to life. Our previous gofundme page raised £280. Thanks to your incredible generosity, we were able to use those funds to pay our venue deposit and secure two nights of our three night run this time around.  As I and the director Connor are early-career artists looking to gain vital professional experience, we are aware that securing larger-scale funding for the play is highly unlikely.  Although you have already done so much for us, we are reaching out to you again, to see if you could  support the delivery of the production. Your donations will directly fund both our individual work (props sourcing, technical hire, paying our actors wages) to our wider work, such as financing mental health support resources from charities like CALM and Manchester Mind, to distribute at the venue. Myself and the rest of the Toxic team are not expecting a payment ourselves, our first priority is ensuring that our play is delivered effectively and helps as many people as possible. The fund will be kept open until the end of August, so that we can meet all deadlines for our outgoings.

For all of your help, we simply cannot put our gratitude into words. Not only will you allow us to help communities and audiences in Greater Manchester access resources and  discuss mental health creatively in a safe environment, you will also be helping me and Connor take a vital step in our careers. COVID-19 has crippled the arts, with early-career artists like ourselves feeling completely disillusioned and hopeless. We want to use our platform as creatives for the benefit of our neighbours, but it feels impossible to do that without the contacts, platform and financial backing. Toxic is our passion project, our first collaborative production in what we hope is a life spent working together, and we would be forever indebted to you if you can help us realise our dream.

Our thanks always,
Team Toxic

https://www.facebook.com/toxic.play.mcr

Fundraising team: Team Toxic (3)

Dan Lovatt
Organizer
Raised £225 from 13 donations
England
Connor Goodwin
Team member
Raised £50 from 1 donation
Missy Steinbach
Team member
Raised £50 from 1 donation

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