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Creativity can be a powerful tool for talking to children and young people about mental health.

In this online event, we talk to children’s author and playwright Ross Mackay and theatre director Lu Kemp about addressing the most difficult of subjects in a way that is accessible and fun.

Afterwards there will be an opportunity for everyone attending to discuss the issues raised, as well as their own projects, as a group.

About the Artists

Ross Mackay is the author of Will and the Whisp, a novel for young people about anxiety, and Daddy’s Bad (Bed) Day, a children’s picture book about depression. His new play Cringe, which tackles school bullying, premieres at this year’s Edinburgh International Children’s Festival (Scottish Storytelling Centre, 31 May to 3 June).

Lu Kemp is a theatre director and dramaturg who has worked with the National Theatre of Scotland, Citizens Theatre, the Royal Lyceum and the Royal Shakespeare Company, among others. Her theatre work for young people includes Titus, a play about suicide, and When I See Blue, about a boy with OCD.

About the Mental Health Arts Network

The Mental Health Arts Network is a year-round initiative by the Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival to bring together a community of artists interested in making creative work about mental health.