sunny side: the short film

In January, we held a drop in session at The Trades Club in Hebden Bridge. We’d just spent 4 years making a dance theatre show about mental health in men in the valley - the place we had grown up in. As we were about to go on tour across the UK, we wanted to reconnect with the men of our valley. How was their mental health today? Is our show still true, still relevant? 

We met with men from the ages of 18-75, some of which had come specially, some who had been made to come (sorry Dad!) and others who had seen a sign on the street and needed to speak to someone - anyone. 

Those brave and beautiful men shared their highs, their lows, their struggles, their hopes for the future. And together, we sat and listened. 

With their permission, we took notes. In my notebook was this: I have a coat of armour, my struggle isn’t worth talking about as there are people struggling worse than me, I don’t want to stand out, I just want to be loved, it’s dark and wet around here, it’s easier not to have the conversation, I’m stuck in a rut, hanging on by a wire. And perhaps one that really resonated and inspired the film: one night I went dancing, and that was the night the depression got attacked. Touch got me out of the rut; you can’t be depressed and dancing. 

Welcome to Sunny Side: The Short Film - where we imagine a world where it is safe for men to express their vulnerabilities, to hold each other, to comfort, to dance.

WATCH THE FILM