Nuala McKeever play coming to Antrim during Dying Matters Awareness Week
The Northern Health and Social Care Trust is helping to break the stigma around talking about death and dying by supporting this year’s Dying Matters campaign.
Taking place from May 5 – 11 with ‘the culture of dying matters’ as its main theme, the campaign explores how communities experience and express the impact of dying, death and bereavement.
A highlight of the week sees the Trust’s Palliative Care Service Improvement Team working in partnership with Compassionate Communities NI to bring the popular play ‘Love, Truth or Promise’, written by playwright and comedian Nuala McKeever, to the Old Courthouse Theatre in Antrim on Thursday 8 May at 7pm.
A powerful, poignant and hilarious one woman show, Nuala plays three women who meet at a creative writing class in Belfast. Over the weeks, Brenda, Maureen and Joanna get to know each other through their stories. But it’s the things they’re leaving out that really tell the tale. The play deals sensitively with themes of loss, grief and how we deal with life when it doesn’t turn out the way we expect. The performance will be followed by a short conversation with Nuala and guests from the Northern Trust and Cruse Bereavement Support. Tickets are £10, subsidised by the Northern Trust. To book go to www.theoldcourthousetheatre.com or telephone 0300 123 7788.
Talking to each other
Fiona Gilmour, Macmillan Palliative Care Service Improvement Lead for the Northern Trust, said: “We understand that it can be difficult to speak about death but it’s so important to do so when we have the chance. Nuala’s play is a brilliant conversation starter which we hope will make a real impact on our audience. Alongside this, we’re holding events on Planning Ahead Day, Wednesday 7 May, in some of our Death Positive Libraries in partnership with Libraries NI, to raise awareness of advance care planning.
“An important element of planning ahead is having the conversation with those closest to you so that they know your wishes. These conversations can be challenging and so we want to create spaces that offer people opportunities to think about what’s important to them and share resources to help plan ahead.”
You can find out more about these sessions and other events by visiting www.compassionatecommunitiesni.com.
Support
To coincide with the campaign, staff from the Northern Trust’s palliative and cancer services will take part in training through the Ruth Strauss Foundation to help support patients who have children. The Foundation was set up in memory of Ruth Strauss, the wife of former England cricket captain, Sir Andrew Strauss. As a mum of young children, she recognised the importance of providing emotional support for families to prepare children for the death of a parent.
Ruby Wroe, from Hospice UK said: “Honest, timely discussions about death and dying are so important. They can transform the end of someone’s life and help family and friends know what to expect. This Dying Matters Awareness Week, we’re starting conversations about how we talk about death and dying, and why it matters”.
“Whether it’s with healthcare professionals, family, friends, or colleagues, we’re encouraging everyone, from all communities, to have these important conversations. We hope that speaking honestly about death means that people get the information and support they need, when they need it.”
Pictured above are Tracey Stewart, Anne O’Hagan, Kerrie McLaughlin and Fiona Gilmour from the Northern Health and Social Care Trust with Donna Breslin from Macmillan Cancer Support.
14th April 2025
