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death on the fringe 2016

The world's biggest arts festival, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, kicks off this week, and this year, as for a few years now, it will feature a series of shows and events looking at death and dying – Death on the Fringe.

This festival-within-a-festival is part of the ongoing charity-led initiative, Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief, which works to promote more openness about death, dying and bereavement. The aim is to make people aware of ways to live with death, dying and bereavement and help them feel better equipped to support each other through those difficult times.

Death is never the easiest thing to talk about, but it's so important to discuss it with friends and family before it's too late. What do you want to happen after you die? Have you made a will? Have you thought about your funeral? What about if you become terminally ill? Hopefully, Death on the Fringe is a way to kickstart those conversations in an entertaining and understanding way. And what better place to discuss the issue than at the world's biggest arts festival?

Events at Death on the Fringe range from the deadly serious to the lethally funny, but they all share the common feature of making audiences think about what it means to live well and die well.

For a start, Death on the Fringe provides a fantastic opportunity to hear leading academics and healthcare practitioners share their expertise. For those who've ever wondered about near-death experiences or death bed visions, Professor Allan Kellehear of Bradford University will be evaluating the explanations given for them in his lecture Mystical Experiences At The End Of Life – Really? Meanwhile, Dr Sally Paul of Strathclyde University will be asking the question What Happens To Dead People's Bodies? and discussing how we answer that question when children ask it. Edinburgh University's Professor Scott Murray will also be asking difficult questions – when, where and how you would like to die? – in his lecture Bringing Death Back To Life.

But beyond the lecture series, there are a whole variety of performances, from the astonishing real life tale of a body washed ashore in Sligo in Ireland, A Dream of Dying, to Melbourne comedian Lana Schwarcz's show about surviving breast cancer, Lovely Lady Lump.

TV doctor and comedian, Phil Hammond, will be reflecting on life, the death of two dads, and his still sprightly mother in his show, Life and Death (But Mainly Death), which runs throughout the Fringe, as does his discussion piece Dr Phil's NHS Revolution, for which he's joined by Glasgow Dr Margaret McCartney.

There's a musical show transferring from New York called Dark Heart, about the effect the accidental death of a sister has on a young woman's mental health. The manager of an award-winning burial ground, Liz Rothschild, will be providing food for thought in a show about her experiences, Outside The Box, and Dundee-based writer, Eddie Small, will also be playing a funeral director, discussing the lives and deaths of two corpses in his parlour, in The Death Pantomime.

The Fringe is all about entertainment, of course, but it is also about getting people to think and challenge themselves with different perspectives. Death on the Fringe does exactly that with a topic we all have to face.

Death on the Fringe 2016 runs from August 5-28.

For the full programme, see www.deathonthefringe.org.uk or follow @DeathOnFringe on Twitter.

Reflections on Awareness Week

From 8-15 May people across Scotland did their bit to promote more open and supportive attitudes to death, dying and bereavement by taking part in Death Awareness Week Scotland.

Many people left thought-provoking feedback praising the exhibition, for example

We are pleased to announce that NHS Lothian is the first ever winner of the Awareness Week Health Promoting Palliative Care award, which is awarded to the NHS Board area hosting events in the widest variety of venues. Within Lothian events were held in a hospital, a hospice, a community centre, a workplace and a university. NHS Greater Glasgow came a close second.

During awareness week itself, Robert Peacock, volunteer Director of Death on the

Fringe, and film-makers Jane Harris and Jimmy Edmonds were announced as winners of the Contribution to Openness About Death Award, in recognition of their contributions towards promoting more open and supportive attitudes to death and bereavement in Scotland.

A report summarising and reflecting on awareness week activity has been published: Death Awareness Week Scotland: Summary Report.

We are currently collecting feedback about people's experiences of the Awareness Week, and we'd be grateful for your thoughts if you have 3 minutes to complete the survey: Death Awareness Week - survey

(Map pictured courtesy of Google Maps. Red dot = Local press coverage. Green dot = Exhibition venue. Blue dot = Awareness week event. Second picture: courtesy of Annabel Howell, Margaret Kerr Unit, NHS Borders.)

Winners Announced - Promoting Openness Award

The winners of a new award which recognises individual contributions towards promoting more open and supportive attitudes to death and bereavement in Scotland have been revealed as Robert Peacock, volunteer Director of Death on the Fringe, and film-makers Jane Harris and Jimmy Edmonds.

Robert Peacock runs Death on the Fringe, a series of events exploring death and bereavement which takes place during the Edinburgh Festival. Now in its third year, Death on the Fringe brings together into one programme death-themed comedy, theatre and musical performances, as well as academic lectures and experimental ‘death cabarets’. Robert undertakes the role in a voluntary capacity, and Death on the Fringe brings a unique approach to exploring these difficult issues which has drawn attention from national and international media.

 

Jane Harris and Jimmy Edmonds have been recognised for their work challenging societal reluctance to talk about the death of children and the grief of parents. Jane and Jimmy’s son Josh was killed in a road traffic accident in Vietnam in 2011. Through film and other media Jane and Jimmy have shared their painful journey through grief, encouraging other parents in similar situations, and challenging society more widely to be more open about death, loss and grief, particularly in circumstances of traumatic or sudden death.

 

The Contribution to Openness about Death Award is awarded by the Scottish Partnership for Palliative Care (SPPC), as part of its ongoing Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief initiative to promote more openness about death, dying and bereavement in Scotland.

Mark Hazelwood, Chief Executive of the Scottish Partnership for Palliative Care said:

“In Scotland we have a cultural reluctance to talk about the practical realities of death and bereavement, and that can make it difficult to plan ahead. It can also make it difficult for communities to support each other through these difficult times. We hope that this award will draw attention to the fantastic variety of innovative work going on in Scotland, changing cultural norms and enabling people to be more open about these important issues.”

Robert Peacock said:

“It's been an absolute privilege organising Death on the Fringe, working with some amazing performers and hearing the personal stories that people have to share. Seeing it recognised in this way is an added bonus. Audience members often tell us they've been moved by what they've seen or that it's made them think about death differently, and starting that debate is what Death on the Fringe is all about. But of course, winning an award does no harm at all! I'm looking forward to this year's Death on the Fringe even more now and can't wait to reveal the programme.”

Jane Harris said:

“We are proud and honoured to receive this award. As Josh’s mum and dad this is of course bitter sweet…... something that no bereaved parent would ever want to be nominated for…... but we would like to thank the panel for recognising our work.

New art exhibition tours Scotland

A new art exhibition will tour the country this May to mark Death Awareness Week Scotland. The exhibition is the result of a partnership between award-winning Glasgow-based artist photographer Colin Gray, and the Scottish Partnership for Palliative Care (SPPC).

Based on a concept and interviews by SPPC the exhibition features a series of photo portraits and wisdom from people from all walks of life who have cared for someone who is dying or has been bereaved.

As well as including conventional roles like doctors and nurses, the exhibition includes some more surprising roles including a taxi driver, a teacher and a funeral director. The exhibition aims to show that care and support comes in many guises and is needed by many different people.

Mark Hazelwood, Chief Executive of the Scottish Partnership for Palliative Care said:

“We all know that ‘it takes a village’ to raise a child, but what is less well recognised that it also ‘takes a village’ to support someone who is dying, and their family.

“Whether it is looking after an aging parent, working as a nurse, or cooking a meal for a bereaved neighbour, every day people help each other through the difficult times that can come with death, dying, loss and care. We wanted to show that ordinary people do amazing things when it comes to looking after the people around them. ”

The exhibition is being launched as part of Death Awareness Week Scotland (9-15 May 2016), which aims to raise awareness of the positive benefits of planning ahead for death and dying. The week has been organised by Scottish alliance Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief as part of its ongoing work to promote more openness about death, dying and bereavement in Scotland. 22 venues across the country will showcase the exhibition, including local venues.

Entitled ‘It Takes a Village’, the exhibition is a project by artist, photographer and film maker Colin Gray and SPPC. Gray’s previous work includes ‘The Parents’, a series of photographs about the photographer’s relationship with his parents and theirs with each other over a period of two decades. A follow up exhibition and book ‘In Sickness and in Health’ documented his parents’ deterioration in health and ultimately his mothers’ death.

Colin Gray said:

“The new exhibition explores similar themes to those in my earlier work - love, loss, mortality. This time however the pictures are of many different people, none of whom I had met before. The pictures are accompanied by each person’s own words about what they have experienced and the insights that those experiences bring.”

The exhibition features photographs and stories from a range of viewpoints, including a son who looked after his mother for five years with dementia, a teacher in a secondary school, a children’s palliative care nurse, and a taxi driver. Claire Linton, who was in her mid-20s when she looked after her father as he was dying of cancer, was interviewed and photographed for the exhibition:

“That six months I was home with my Dad before he died were the best and worst of my life. It was a privilege to be his daughter. If you love someone when they are vulnerable and have nothing to offer then you have accomplished true love.

“I think it is so true that ‘it takes a village’ to look after someone who is dying. The number of people who really became involved when my dad was ill was amazing. The waitresses in our cafe, the people working in the chemist, the bookies, the doctors, nurses, neighbours, friends and family. It's so true. I’m so pleased to be part of an exhibition celebrating that – my Dad would have loved it.”

A full list of exhibition venues is available here: It Takes a Village Exhibition Venues

An online version of the exhibition is available to view here: It Takes a Village