On this page

• Project Lead
• Aim and Approach
• Practical Details
• Key Partnerships
• Activity and Outcomes
• Support
• Impact

Project lead

Dr Ruth Riley, PreScribed project, 2016/17

Aim and approach

Dr Ruth Riley led a project in the Centre for Academic Primary Care with Johanna Spiers, investigating what happens when GPs (General Practitioners) seek support for mental health problems, stress and burnout. Ruth was keen to find ways to share the doctors’ powerful stories more widely and make them come alive. She successfully applied to an open call from the Elizabeth Blackwell Institute (EBI) for researchers seeking to collaborate with artists on a show for the first Feel It Festival in Bristol.

Practical details

Production & collaboration costs of approx. £31,000 were primarily financed by £10K funding from the EBI, an Arts Council England grant of £14K and ticket sales income.

Key partnerships

Viv Gordon is a theatre maker, survivor activist, arts & mental health campaigner, and performance artist with lived experience of mental ill health.

Activity and outcomes

As part of the study in-depth interviews were conducted with GPs and these became the basis for the creative piece. Ruth, Johanna and Viv worked collaboratively to develop the show, using co-production principles which valued diverse viewpoints, skills and knowledge, and prioritised power sharing and inclusivity. As the relationship developed, Viv also contributed to the research aspect, interpreting findings from her personal perspective.

PreScribed (a life written for me), scripted and performed by Viv, debuted at the Feel It Festival in 2016. After reflecting on their experience and audience feedback the team successfully applied for an Arts Council England grant to refine the show and take it on tour. Around 2,000 people saw it at six venues across Britain and during a two-week run at the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Q&A sessions after the shows allowed for two-way discussions and highlighted how research had informed the play. Described as "honest, insightful and revealing" by a review in The Scotsman, evaluation showed audiences gained new understandings of pressures affecting GPs and felt deeply emotionally engaged with the issues raised.

Support

The EBI commissioned the first show, arranged an open application and interview process to help Ruth find and select a creative partner and backed further funding applications. Georgina Bladon (EBI Public Engagement Associate) was closely involved: co-ordinating the production and supporting the project team; as well as managing evaluation and reporting.

Impact

This project demonstrates the value, mutual benefit and impact of working collaboratively with an artist to develop resonant and powerful ways of communicating research outcomes. It has been showcased in a NIHR Case Study, become an academic paper and opened up new funding options for EBI researchers. Ruth says:

“Being involved in PreScribed was the highlight of my career to date. It reinforced the value of using creative methods for engagement and communication and I always cost this into bids now.”

Her recent research-based film about junior doctors has over 9k views on Twitter.