Blood Ties

Logline

Eighteen year-old control freak Chrissie discovers her clinically depressed sister has been self-harming again, and vows to stop her at any cost.

What Is It About?

‘Blood Ties’ is a topical one-act play that examines the issue of the family bystander to mental illness, asking key questions about carers’ wellbeing and what it means to be a sibling. 

The play also aims to raise awareness of the milder, rarer form of depression that is dysthymia – sometimes known as persistent depressive disorder – which often goes unnoticed or misinterpreted as just being ‘a grumpy mood’, even by loved ones. It’s not a ‘sexy’ illness, but it’s a real one, with real impact on lives today.

‘Blood Ties’ endeavours to make this dark subject matter accessible and engaging with the help of everyday family humour, from the stepmum’s painfully obvious bonding tactics, to the sisters’ often childish brand of sibling rivalry. 

Creative Team

  • Writer: Amelia Nashe
  • Director: Stephanie Boyle
  • Costume & Set Designer: Catherine McLauchlan
Lots of people reaching their red, painted hands into the centre of the circle, so that the red paint forms a heart shape in the picture.

Our Aims

  1. To raise awareness of the condition of dysthymia.
  2. To engage 14-16yr-olds in discussion around the importance of support networks for mental health.
  3. To shift the way we think about mental health away from the stigmas of the ‘mentally ill’, and towards the idea that everyone has a state of mental health that is fluid and must be looked after, just like physical health.

Development

12th December 2018: Script Development Reading at the Tron Theatre

26th-28th March 2019: MAKING SPACE Development Workshop at the Tron Theatre

4th April 2019: Script Surgery with Andy Edwards, Tron Theatre’s writer-in-residence for Mayfesto 2019 

"Amelia has written an insightful script with a nuanced understanding of the realities of both living with ill-mental health and supporting someone else to do so. It is by focusing on this latter reality that Blood Ties sets itself both within and apart from other contemporary work on mental illness."
Andy Edwards
Playwright, Dramaturg

What Next?

May 2020: Programmed in SMHAF (Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival) – performance and its accompanying workshop with young carers delayed and then cancelled due to Covid-19. SMHAF are still interested when the play becomes viable again and I am open to interested producers.

SMHAF is run by the Mental Health Foundation. It is one of the largest, oldest and most respected  festivals of its kind in the world. For more information, check out their website.

While we are waiting out the pandemic’s huge impact on the theatre industry, we are currently seeking development and production partners to help with funding, a producer with relevant experience and consultants to help us reach our teenage target audience. Interested in learning more?

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