Comedians Man Up For Mental Health: Richard Herring Headlines Mind Comedy Night, UK

Main Category: Mental Health
Article Date: 24 Apr 2009 - 0:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   opinions  

How many people does it take to get men to speak out about their mental wellbeing? Answer: Five top comedians! Stand up stars Richard Herring, Robin Ince and Paul Tonkinson will be among those taking to the mic to raise awareness about men's mental health and raise vital funds for the charity Mind on Tuesday 12 May at London's Bloomsbury Theatre at 7:30pm.

As part of a series of events being held for Mind week (9-16 May 2009), some of the country's finest stand ups are dedicating their comedic wit for an evening of laugh a minute entertainment. Headlining the event is Richard Herring, part of the prolific comedy duo Lee and Herring of BBC2's This Morning With Richard Not Judy and co-writer of the multi award winning On The Hour.

In a first class comedic line up, Richard is joined by Robin Ince, whose Edinburgh Fringe appearances, award winning comedy night The Book Club and writing career for Ricky Gervais and Graham Norton gained him the outstanding contribution to comedy accolade at the Time Out Awards 2006. Plus, winner of the Time Out New Act of the Year Award and Time Out Stand Up Comic of the Year, Paul Tonkinson, also known from his days as presenter on Big Breakfast and The Sunday Show.

They will be supported by the 'slickness and sheer talent' (Time Out) of Kevin Dewsbury, finalist at the Hackney Young Comedian of the Year Awards and 'one of the hottest prospects in stand-up' (Time Out), and Andrew Bird, celebrated for his 'easy charisma other acts would die for' (Evening Standard). Also dishing out the jokes is compere for the evening is 'genuine comedy gold' (Metro) Tiernan Douieb, critically acclaimed for his 'Tea and Cake' sketch show.

Kathleen Miles, Director of Fundraising at Mind said: "Our last comedy night was a huge sell-out success, but we expect this one to be even bigger and better! We rely entirely on donations, so getting people involved with events like these is fundamental for our continuing work to provide information and support for people with mental health problems. We're sure that it will be a great fundraiser, and will bring people together to highlight the issues surrounding men and mental health."

As well as raising the roof with laughter and raising vital funds for Mind's work, the evening will also help to bring a national focus on men and mental health. In challenging the common conception of 'being a real man' and male heroism, Mind's campaign offers huge scope for humour. Mind hopes to use comedy to expose the pressures society places on men to play the 'tough guy' and ensure that their important message will hit home.

On Monday 11 May, Mind will launch its 'Get it off your chest' campaign with the publication of a new report comparing the ways men and women deal with emotional problems. Men are 3 times more likely than women to take their own lives but only half as likely to be diagnosed with depression. Mind's campaign will encourage men to seek professional help and will call on the Government to take the needs of men into consideration when planning mental health services. Men and women experience mental distress differently and both should be able to access treatments with that in mind.

The evening will commence at 7:30pm on Thursday 12 May at London's Bloomsbury theatre. Tickets are cost £17.50 and are available now from http://www.thebloomsbury.com/event/run/1302.

Source
MIND

• Additional
• References
• Citations