Since 2010, Playing ON has been working in NHS Foundation Trusts across London delivering reflective practice and experiential training for staff at Guy's & St Thomas', Camden & Islington, East London, South London & Maudsley NHS Trusts and Health Education England.

Anya joined us on work experience throughout the weekly sessions for our brand new writers’ group and shared her experience with us.

Over the past year, we have worked in partnership with Leap Confronting Conflict to deliver a programme of drama and storytelling workshops for care experience young people called Raising the Roof. This blog post explores the Raising the Roof journey, and it’s outcomes.

Rebecca Charlton is an applied theatre graduate, arts administrator and faciliator who has worked with Playing ON since her placement in 2020. This week, we sat down with Rebecca to chat about all things Playing ON, the first steps into freelancing and what it’s like to be one of the unique class of 2021…

Over the last few years, Playing ON has begun incorporating reflective practice into projects such as in the process of our last major production Can I Help You? and embedded within community projects, such as Urban Tribe in collaboration with NHS East London Foundation Trust. In this blog, we begin to delve further into discussions around the need for reflective practice, and how we employ the practice here at Playing ON, with input from our Artistic Director, Jim Pope, Executive Director, Rhian Davies and reflective practitioner, Jassy Denison.

Michael Amaning is a writer, actor and drama facilitator who has been a friend of Playing ON for over a decade. This week, we sat down with Michael to chat about all things Applied Theatre, Playing ON and his vision for the future of the industry…

There are many terms to describe what we do; “community theatre, participatory theatre, applied theatre” are some that have been bandied around for years. Then there are the new kids on the block; “co-production and co-creation.” One of my biggest concerns is that we forget that the key element is simply “theatre,” which, when practised with rigour, kindness and courage gives us all these things in spades (participation, application, community etc).

This time last year, on March 15, we faced the reality that our beloved production of “Can I Help You?” by Philip Osment at Omnibus Theatre, Clapham would have to close. My first response was to go home, lie under a duvet and escape the world in a sea of Netflix and salted snacks.

Welcome to the Playing ON blog, a space for the team, our associates, participants and partners to share thoughts, discoveries and resources.

To start the blog we’re going to celebrate some of Playing ON’s key inspirations, and where better to start than with our co-founder, Philip Osment, who would have celebrated his 68th birthday today. Philip very sadly passed away in 2019, though his practice and contributions to the company are still very present in our work today.

We are 10! Happy 10th Birthday Playing ON! Today as we celebrate a decade of exciting and innovative work, come along with us as we journey through our favourite memories and challenges of the last ten years. We can’t party in person, so instead we got in touch with friends old and new to talk about the past 10 years. This is what they had to say!