Men’s Minds Matter
In Shakespeare’s play Hamlet the title character, the young man at the centre of that story, is under huge stresses from all directions and in Act III Scene I comes to a terrifying inflection point. He stops and asks himself, and us, whether he should go on living or whether he should take action to end his life – to be or not to be. It is an enormous and deeply significant question.
In that moment this young man with an enormously promising future and a life ahead of him, likely aged somewhere between 25 and 35, clearly feels that he has no one to turn to and no other options. In that moment he convinces himself that the best answer to his horrifying question might be to end his fight against the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune and take the extraordinary step to end his life.
Suicide is a means of death repeated regularly across Shakespeare’s works – Othello takes his own life, as does Romeo, as does Brutus. In fact, in the 15 plays classified as tragedies, there are 13 definite and 8 possible suicides. (Shakespeare doesn’t discriminate in this, think of Ophelia and Juliet as well…).
Sadly, the regularity with which Shakespeare’s characters rub up against suicide remains the same for many today. It is still present and particularly so amongst men. Around 2 in 5 or 42% of UK men have considered suicide and, amongst men under 50, suicide is the leading cause of death. Despite these shocking statistics this is still a subject about which we are largely unaware and not enough is being done to tackle it.
This year I am very proud to announce that The Lord Chamberlain’s Men are partnering with Men’s Minds Matter, a not-for-profit community interest company dedicated to the prevention of suicide. Men’s Minds Matter are passionate about men’s mental health, suicide intervention and prevention. They specialise in developing and delivering psychological interventions for individuals experiencing suicidal thoughts, while also advocating for and raising awareness about male suicide.
Men account for three quarters of all suicides, and male suicides have always been disproportionately high. Suicide is the leading cause of death globally for men, across all age groups. Undeniably, it’s something that needs attention. As men’s suicide specialists, Men’s Minds Matter focus primarily on the male experience, although their clinical model transcends gender.
This year throughout our tour we will be fundraising for Men’s Minds Matter. At the bottom of this page is a QR code that links to our fundraising page where you can donate. This organisation is changing the way that suicide prevention happens and how the challenge is attacked. Their model is to provide as many people as possible, particularly young men, with more information, better skills and tools so that they can help themselves and, crucially, be there to help others, creating a cascade of knowledge and skills that will build a tidal wave to push back against this issue.
During rehearsals our company took part in one of Men’s Minds Matter training programmes. This was an opportunity to raise awareness of this particularly male issue amongst our company of young men and to be part of the drive to upskill as many people as possible so that we can be part of this cascade too.
My desire in partnering with Men’s Minds Matter is that we will be able to raise awareness of this important issue and all of us will form part of the cascade of awareness and kindness and hope and love and together we will become a small part of the solution to this challenge.
In 2015, Jon-Paul Rowden, the actor pictured above, played Malvolio in The Lord Chamberlain’s Men production of Twelfth Night. Last year, tragically, JP passed away. I offer this to him and to all the people who have struggled and do struggle. You are not alone.
Peter Stickney
Artistic Director and Producer