Guest Experts for Q&A Discussions
Meet the wonderful guest experts who were on the panel for the Q&A discussions after every performance and screening of The Possibility of Colour during the November 2022 tour.
James Wannerton has Sound to Taste synaesthesia, a neurological condition with a genetic basis which causes him to experience flavour sensations whenever he hears sounds or reads words.
His expert advice, feedback and enthusiasm for each version of the script over several years has been crucial to the development of The Possibility of Colour.
James was one of the first individuals in the UK to have his synaesthetic experiences studied and recorded in over 100 published research papers world-wide.
James is Vice President of the International Association of Synaesthetes, Artists and Scientists (IASAS) and President of the UK Synaesthesia Association (UKSA) and is committed to raising general awareness of synaesthesia and cross-modality via media strands and art/science projects and collaborations.
He has presented at many international neurology and synaesthesia conferences and gives presentations at schools, colleges, National Health Service facilities and other public venues. He has featured in TV and radio documentaries for the BBC, ITV, Channels 4 & 5, ABC, CBS, NBC and the Discovery Channel for broadcast across Europe, Asia, South Africa, Australia and the USA.
James’s artistic achievements include an award winning “Synaesthesia Garden” exhibited at the 2015 Royal Hampton Court Palace Flower Show and an interactive sound/vision to taste synaesthesia installation at the Victoria and Albert museum, London. He also has artworks on permanent display at Edinburgh University and the Trapholt Museum of Modern Art in Denmark.
James’ Taste Tube map is a reworking of Harry Beck’s iconic London Underground Tube map representing the synaesthetic tastes and flavours of every station on the Underground, Overground and Docklands Light Railway systems. Collected over a 49 year period: January 1964 – August 2013.
James was a guest expert on the Q&A Panel at the following events:
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Thu 17th Nov 2pm - The New Adelphi - Salford
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Thu 17th Nov 7pm - The New Adelphi - Salford
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Thu 24th Nov 2pm - The Media Factory - UCLan - Preston
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Fri 9th December - Nottingham Trent University
'When happiness and normality is prescribed, the potential for creativity and growth can be lost.
Unusual experiences and beliefs can be seen as a threat to normality. They can also be seen as messengers about things we have lost touch with.'
Rufus and Elisabeth have been crucial to the development of The Possibility of Colour.
They have provided regular expert feedback on the script at several stages and have also facilitated script readings and discussions with other voice hearers during both periods of Research & Development in 2015/16 and 2021.
Rufus May has worked as a clinical psychologist in adult mental health services for 19 years. He provides training and consultancy in recovery and integrative based approach to psychosis and other mental health problems.
Rufus has an international reputation for training people in holistic and recovery based approaches to mental health problems, having carried out work in the United States, Australia, Canada, Spain, Italy, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, Norway and Holland. His interest in psychological approaches to psychosis and recovery is rooted in his own experiences of psychosis and recovery in his late teens.
Elisabeth Svanholmer has worked since 2006 as a Danish Hearing Voices Network trainer and facilitator. Her own experiences of living with voices and other unusual experiences has served as an inspiration for her current work-life. Elisabeth is passionate about facilitating creative, supportive spaces for people to talk about their experiences and learn from each other.
Rufus & Elisabeth were guest experts on the Q&A Panel at the following events:
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Fri 18th Nov 7pm - The New Adelphi - Salford
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Thu 24th Nov 7pm - The Media Factory - UCLan - Preston
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Tue 29th Nov 7pm - The Arts Centre - Edge Hill - Ormskirk
Kaitlyn Hova is not only a professional violinist, composer, full stack web developer, designer, neuroscientist, and core team member of Women Who Code, but she is also a synesthete—which means her sensory perception is quite different from what most people experience.
Kaitlyn is advising the writer/director and designers of The Possibility of Colour on how to represent synaesthesia authentically in the play.
You can learn more about Kaitlyn’s work and her experience of synaesthesia by watching her TedMed Talk, ‘Seeing song through the ears of a synesthete’.
Kaitlyn was a guest expert on the Q&A Panel at the following event:
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Fri 2nd Dec 7pm - Online Screening
Emma Goude is an author and international award-winning documentary filmmaker.
Her first book, My Beautiful Psychosis: Making Sense of Madness, is a gritty tale of transformation depicting, from the inside, some of the most powerful experiences a human mind can endure. It turns on its head the idea that psychosis is a debilitating illness, caused by a brain chemical imbalance, which requires medication for life. It is an intense, honest and lucid memoir, an exposing and vulnerable adventure through a psyche that is spilling out undigested psychological material to reveal secrets that have been forgotten.
My Beautiful Psychosis: Making Sense of Madness questions conventional methods of treating psychosis and points towards a radical vision where diagnosis of mental illness makes allowances for spiritual growth and transformation rather than simply treating a perceived brain chemical imbalance.
Emma is currently writing her second book, Tango, Camino, Romeo, which is a travel adventure and a dance fest all wrapped up in a love quest.
Emma also runs Green Lane Films, which has been commissioned to produce a film about Open Dialogue, a new form of mental health care being introduced into the NHS.
Emma was a guest expert on the Q&A Panel at the following event:
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Thu 17th Nov 7pm - The New Adelphi - Salford
Dr Maria Grazia Turri is Senior Lecturer and Co-director of the MSc Creative Arts and Mental Health, a collaboration between the Centre for Psychiatry and the Department of Drama at Queen Mary University of London. She is a psychiatrist, psychoanalytic psychotherapist, theatre scholar and practitioner.
Following completion of medical school in Padova (Italy), Maria obtained her DPhil (Oxford) in psychiatry in 2002. She subsequently trained in psychiatry and psychoanalytic psychotherapy in Oxford, qualifying in Medical Psychotherapy in 2011.
She worked in psychiatry in the NHS for 15 years, including as Consultant Psychiatrist in Medical Psychotherapy.
She is committed to promoting the contribution of the creative arts to research, education and practice in mental health.
Maria has a PhD in Drama from Exeter University (2015) and her research focuses on understanding processes of identification in theatre through psychoanalytic theory. Her current project is a study of the power dynamics underpinning laughter, with a particular focus on comic processes in Commedia dell’Arte, a theatre form which flourished in the early modern period across Europe. As theatre practitioner, she worked as deviser with theatre company Gaia Drama Group. She has directed children and young people devised projects.
She teaches on psychoanalysis, theatre history and theories, and the intersection between psychiatry and the arts. She has also taught in theatre-practice modules. She supervises MSc dissertations.
Maria was a guest expert on the Q&A Panel at the following events:
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Fri 18th Nov 2pm - The New Adelphi - Salford
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Fri 18th Nov 7pm - The New Adelphi - Salford
Mick McKeown is Professor of Democratic Mental Health in the School of Nursing at UCLan.
He has consistently supported public engagement initiatives, largely in the field of health and social care.
He initiated and developed the Comensus service user and carer involvement project at the University of Central Lancashire and supports public engagement in North West Coastal ARC mental health activities.
Mick is a board member of the Preston Cooperative Development Network and active within the Preston Model for community wealth building.
Mick has been a keen supporter of The Possibility of Colour for several years and is also the lead supervisor for Pete Carruthers’ PhD study, 'Empathy Machines: Using theatre and film in the training of compassionate and reflective health professionals.'
Mick was a guest expert on the Q&A Panel at the following events:
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Fri 25th Nov 2pm - The Media Factory - UCLan - Preston
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Tue 29th Nov 7pm - The Arts Centre - Edge Hill - Ormskirk
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Fri 9th Dec - Nottingham Trent University
Anne Felton started her nursing career in rehabilitation mental health services, before moving to an academic role at the University of Nottingham. She became an associate professor in 2016 and was lead for the mental health and learning disabilities team.
Anne's practice is underpinned by a commitment to enhancing the lives and care experiences of people using health services. Much of her work has adopted a co-production approach with effective partnerships with service users, students, practitioners and academics.
Anne was a guest expert on the Q&A Panel at the following events:
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Thu 24th Nov 2pm - The Media Factory - UCLan - Preston
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Thu 24th Nov 7pm - The Media Factory - UCLan - Preston
Krissi Musiol is Senior Lecturer and Course Leader in BA (Hons) Theatre & Performance at the University of Central Lancashire.
She is also a solo contemporary performance maker, writer and performer, working across theatres, galleries and public spaces. Krissi is currently exploring motherhood, the maternal body as archive, labour (birth) and labour (work). Areas of interest include exhaustion, maternal mental health, postpartum motivation, motherhood and time, motherhood and storytelling, motherhood and shared experience.
Krissi is also a supervisor for Pete Carruthers’ PhD study, 'Empathy Machines: Using theatre and film in the training of compassionate and reflective health professionals.'
Krissi was a guest expert on the Q&A Panel at the following events:
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Thu 17th Nov 2pm - The New Adelphi - Salford
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Wed 23rd Nov 7pm - The Media Factory - UCLan - Preston
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Fri 2nd Dec 7pm - Online Screening
Luke Carruthers is the eldest son of the writer of The Possibility of Colour, Pete Carruthers. The first seed of inspiration for the play came as Pete was watching Luke grow up, particularly from the perspective of Luke’s autism diagnosis and the well-meaning messages that were given to him by health professionals, teachers and many others.
Luke’s experiences, views and witty anecdotes have been a constant source of inspiration throughout the 14 years that Pete has been writing the play.
Luke is now 22 and is a 3rd year student at the University of Salford on the BA (Hons) TV and Radio Production programme.
He is a talented script writer and video editor and has a successful YouTube channel with over 3000 subscribers, where he reviews films, TV shows and video games. His in-depth reviews of classic Thomas the Tank Engine series are particularly popular, with his most recent video getting close to 60,000 views in its first month alone.
Luke’s favourite character from Thomas the Tank Engine is Henry.
Luke was a guest expert on the Q&A Panel at the following event:
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Thu 17th Nov 7pm - The New Adelphi - Salford
Jonathan Gadsby qualified as a mental health nurse in 2001. He has worked in a variety of in-patient and community settings. He has a Masters in Philosophy and Ethics of Mental Health, post-graduate certificates in Research and in Education, and a PhD in the politics of mental health and voice-hearing.
He is a founder member of the Critical Mental Health
Nurses’ Network and edits their website.
Jonathan was proud to be a critical reader for Johnson and Boyle’s Power Threat Meaning Framework, published in January 2018.
Jonathan has been a keen supporter of The Possibility of Colour for several years, and his expert advice and insight has played a crucial part in the development of the script and overall project.
He is also a supervisor for Pete Carruthers’ PhD study, 'Empathy Machines: Using theatre and film in the training of compassionate and reflective health professionals.'
Jonathan was a guest expert on the Q&A Panel at the following event:
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Fri 9th Dec - Nottingham Trent University
Joachim Schnackenberg is a UK-trained mental health nurse and Germany-trained social worker with experience of applying the Maastricht Hearing Voices Approach in acute and community settings. He is Director of Hearing Voices and Recovery at a Northern German mental health service provider (Diakonie Kropp). He has been part of the Hearing Voices Movement since 2000, as he was originally trained and mentored in the application of the Maastricht Approach by Ron Coleman and Karen Taylor, among others, with additional training by Marius Romme, Sandra Escher and Dirk Corstens, as well as ongoing training by every voice hearer and voice he works with or meets. In 2007 he started formally offering training in the Maastricht Approach in a variety of countries, together with his colleague Senait Debesay, a Germany-trained learning disabilities nurse and therapeutic educator, and a variety of trainer experts by experience.
For his PhD, he completed the first mixed-methods effectiveness pilot trial of the Maastricht Approach and he has remained active as a trainer, supervisor, peer-reviewer and consultant in various research projects. In 2017 he lead-authored (in German) the first book to describe using the Maastricht Approach in practice. He is based in the UK and Germany.
Joachim was a guest expert on the Q&A Panel at the following event:
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Wed 30th Nov 2pm - The Arts Centre - Edge Hill - Ormskirk
Dr Anne Darcy
Dr Anne Darcy works as a Clinical Psychologist and collaborates with Experts by Experience and mental health activists to provide coproduced trainings and interventions. Anne is involved in the ongoing development of the Power Threat Meaning Framework which provides an alternative to diagnostic explanations of severe emotional distress and unusual experience.
Anne was a guest expert on the Q&A Panel at the following events:
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Fri 18th Nov 2pm - The New Adelphi - Salford
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Fri 18th Nov 7pm - The New Adelphi - Salford
Ellie Gordon
Ellie has been a Mental Health Nurse for a number of years and over that time has worked across a number of areas of clinical speciality, ranging from forensic inpatient in the private sector, through to working in an NHS international centre of excellence for addictions, as a clinical nurse specialist.
Ellie has also worked as a commissioner in both a PCT and a CCG and worked at national level for NHS England as part of the transforming care team.
Her current role is that of Senior Nurse for Learning Disability and Mental Health in the national nursing and midwifery team in Health Education England.
She is an addiction nurse and continues to work clinically in this area as it remains one of interest and passion for her.
Ellie has been a passionate supporter of The Possibility of Colour since she was introduced to the project 2 years ago, and has played a central role in making it possible for over 1,350 student nurses to watch the play as part of their official training during this initial tour.
Ellie was a guest expert on the Q&A Panel at the following event:
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Thu 17th Nov 2pm - The New Adelphi - Salford
Pete Carruthers
Pete Carruthers is the founder and artistic director of tree fish productions.
He has worked as a writer, director, actor and producer for 13 years, working on a wide range of theatre and film projects.
He has been writing The Possibility of Colour for 14 years, with invaluable support from countless actors, writers, directors, mental health experts, people with lived experience and many many more!
Pete is producing, directing and acting in this first ever production of The Possibility of Colour and is
extremely excited, not only for the play itself, but also for the post-show Q&A discussions after every performance, with such a fantastically talented and experienced collection of guest experts joining him on stage!
Pete's first play, ‘Hidden’ (co-written and produced with Laura Lindsay of Black Toffee), enjoyed a successful national tour in 2014, with the kind support of Arts Council England and in association with Harrogate Theatre. The tour played to nearly 1,200 audience members at 11 theatres. "Hidden" is published by Playdead Press and enjoyed a sell-out run at Underbelly at Edinburgh Fringe 2013. It received glowing reviews, including being described as "A true gem" (The Guardian).
Pete has written, produced and directed several award winning short films that have been used globally to raise awareness and understanding of mental health and autism. One film, ‘Fallout’ has been used to raise awareness and train staff in 8 different countries across 4 continents and was described by Sir Patrick Stewart as ‘extremely powerful’.
Pete was on the Q&A Panel at the following events:
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All of them of course!