{"id":9955,"date":"2016-03-11T13:25:23","date_gmt":"2016-03-11T13:25:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cardiffian.jomec.co.uk\/?p=9955"},"modified":"2016-03-11T13:25:23","modified_gmt":"2016-03-11T13:25:23","slug":"powerful-play-pays-tribute-to-whitchurchs-psychiatric-hospitals-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2016\/03\/11\/powerful-play-pays-tribute-to-whitchurchs-psychiatric-hospitals-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Powerful play pays tribute to history of Whitchurch psychiatric hospital"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><figure id=\"attachment_9957\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-9957\" style=\"width: 212px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/cardiffian.jomec.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Ms-of-Leaving.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-9957\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-9957\" src=\"http:\/\/cardiffian.jomec.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Ms-of-Leaving-212x300.jpg\" alt=\"Momentos of Leaving is set in Whitchurch psychiatric hospital.\" width=\"212\" height=\"300\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-9957\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-9957\" src=\"http:\/\/cardiffian.jomec.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Ms-of-Leaving-212x300.jpg\" alt=\"Momentos of Leaving is set in Whitchurch psychiatric hospital.\" width=\"212\" height=\"300\" \/><\/noscript><\/a> <strong>Moment(o)s of Leaving, set in Whitchurch psychiatric hospital.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><br \/>\n<em>Moment(o)s of Leaving<\/em> is an immersive, site-specific play staged in the East One ward of Whitchurch\u2019s psychiatric hospital before its closure next month.<br \/>\nThe evening began with a matron leading the way through the dim-lit grounds to an eerie conservatory. Four figures stood frozen behind the glass, but before we could meet them, the matron (acted by Sioned Jones) brusquely ticked us off a list demanding answers as to whether we were epileptic, suicidal, dangerous or &#8220;other&#8221;. Nervous laughter echoed as we waited for the next move.<br \/>\nWe were directed into a larger room where three of the figures hid under covers on hospital beds. After we had gathered, Matron ushered in the remaining patient who hung limply as she was coaxed into the fourth bed. The slow start suddenly accelerated when the patients were woken, and the play\u2019s intensity hit home as the cast played out an almost dancing depiction of the patients\u2019 potentially suicidal nature. Individuals\u2019 repeated sequences, such as falling and being caught by another, emphasised the relentlessness that can haunt mental health problems.<br \/>\nThe deliberate smallness of both the cast and audience creates an intimacy that generates a powerful atmosphere as the play moves from room to room. Artistic Director Elaine Paton also performed as the patient who had been brought in by Matron, yet the drama was also something of a reality for this member of the cast. Having spent time as a psychiatric inpatient herself, Paton later invited us to take a look at her diaries and letters from this period of her life.<br \/>\nThis interactive aspect of the play was particularly powerful. The opening scene had segued into the group, where some of us were taken for &#8220;observation&#8221; and others were offered a cup of tea. Observation involved walking around the patients\u2019 cubicles holding their meagre possessions, which ranged from a floor littered with paper planes to a wall covered in kids\u2019 crayon drawings.<br \/>\n<figure id=\"attachment_9979\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-9979\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/cardiffian.jomec.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/12837534_10156596806160103_1554940532_o-1.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-9979\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-9979\" src=\"http:\/\/cardiffian.jomec.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/12837534_10156596806160103_1554940532_o-1-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"One of the crayon drawings in the cubicles.\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-9979\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-9979\" src=\"http:\/\/cardiffian.jomec.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/12837534_10156596806160103_1554940532_o-1-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"One of the crayon drawings in the cubicles.\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" \/><\/noscript><\/a> <strong>One of the crayon drawings in the cubicles.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><br \/>\nFrom this point we were free to roam the ward; audio recordings of conversations were available to give more context to the hospital\u2019s history and closure, or we could watch carefully choreographed solo set-pieces of how patients might have behaved during their incarceration.<br \/>\nThis free section lasted 20 minutes, before following into a series of dramatisations of the hospital\u2019s characters. The most hard-hitting of these was a portrayal of a young woman, acted by Rosalind H\u00e2f Jones, pacing the corridor as if on a catwalk while putting on more than 10 coats simultaneously. Her frantic muttering and rushed swerves signalled a mind riddled with anxiety.<br \/>\nThe show closed with a slightly prolonged episode in which Matron took us through the biography of Sister Florence Raines, who was instrumental in running the hospital during its era as a military hospital during the two World Wars. In comparison with the compelling characterisation of the hospital earlier in the play, where Sioned Jones brilliantly took on the role of the hospital itself \u2013\u00a0complete with clever merging of the patients\u2019 ill-health and the hospital\u2019s poor condition \u2013\u00a0the scene detailing Sister Florence Raines\u2019 biography seemed a little dry.<br \/>\nIt would be impossible to record all the elements of this rich and multi-faceted play. The two and a half hours might have been compressed into a shorter and even more compelling play, but regardless this is an accomplished production which certainly does justice to the hospital\u2019s remarkable 108-year history.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Moment(o)s of Leaving is an immersive, site-specific play staged in the East One ward of Whitchurch\u2019s psychiatric hospital before its closure next month. The evening began with a matron leading the way through the dim-lit grounds to an eerie conservatory. Four figures stood frozen behind the glass, but before we could meet them, the matron (acted by Sioned Jones) brusquely ticked us off a list demanding answers as to whether we were epileptic, suicidal, dangerous or &#8220;other&#8221;. Nervous laughter echoed [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":248,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[292],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-9955","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Powerful play pays tribute to history of Whitchurch psychiatric hospital - The Cardiffian<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2016\/03\/11\/powerful-play-pays-tribute-to-whitchurchs-psychiatric-hospitals-history\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Powerful play pays tribute to history of Whitchurch psychiatric hospital - The Cardiffian\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Moment(o)s of Leaving is an immersive, site-specific play staged in the East One ward of Whitchurch\u2019s psychiatric hospital before its closure next month. The evening began with a matron leading the way through the dim-lit grounds to an eerie conservatory. Four figures stood frozen behind the glass, but before we could meet them, the matron (acted by Sioned Jones) brusquely ticked us off a list demanding answers as to whether we were epileptic, suicidal, dangerous or &#8220;other&#8221;. Nervous laughter echoed [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2016\/03\/11\/powerful-play-pays-tribute-to-whitchurchs-psychiatric-hospitals-history\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Cardiffian\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-03-11T13:25:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/cardiffian.jomec.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Ms-of-Leaving-212x300.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cathyduncan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@cathyduncan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cathyduncan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2016\/03\/11\/powerful-play-pays-tribute-to-whitchurchs-psychiatric-hospitals-history\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2016\/03\/11\/powerful-play-pays-tribute-to-whitchurchs-psychiatric-hospitals-history\/\",\"name\":\"Powerful play pays tribute to history of Whitchurch psychiatric hospital - The Cardiffian\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2016\/03\/11\/powerful-play-pays-tribute-to-whitchurchs-psychiatric-hospitals-history\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2016\/03\/11\/powerful-play-pays-tribute-to-whitchurchs-psychiatric-hospitals-history\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/cardiffian.jomec.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Ms-of-Leaving-212x300.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-03-11T13:25:23+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/#\/schema\/person\/41c76b1e66d8cf6e57cba8550c3772b1\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2016\/03\/11\/powerful-play-pays-tribute-to-whitchurchs-psychiatric-hospitals-history\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2016\/03\/11\/powerful-play-pays-tribute-to-whitchurchs-psychiatric-hospitals-history\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2016\/03\/11\/powerful-play-pays-tribute-to-whitchurchs-psychiatric-hospitals-history\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/cardiffian.jomec.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Ms-of-Leaving-212x300.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/cardiffian.jomec.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Ms-of-Leaving-212x300.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2016\/03\/11\/powerful-play-pays-tribute-to-whitchurchs-psychiatric-hospitals-history\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Powerful play pays tribute to history of Whitchurch psychiatric hospital\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/\",\"name\":\"The Cardiffian\",\"description\":\"Just another JOMEC Sites Network site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/#\/schema\/person\/41c76b1e66d8cf6e57cba8550c3772b1\",\"name\":\"cathyduncan\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/d4d0895f6e1f7ccb86d04236a870a18b\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7cd1b1b63598c25c15d3e0d390366ec2ba1c99865b1a23c34339be8c5c396a81?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7cd1b1b63598c25c15d3e0d390366ec2ba1c99865b1a23c34339be8c5c396a81?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"cathyduncan\"},\"description\":\"Lecturer, Cardiff University News Journalism MA. 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