"'My Never Ending Story' Story 2"

Patients in a secure hospital have been involved in a new project called 'My Never Ending Story'. This is a tale of recovery. It’s written by the patients together in the style of a fairy tale – but it encompasses many aspects of their or their peer’s lives. The difficulties may have been observed in others or felt by themselves. It is humorous and over the top at times, it was written in that way. What started as a task grew into an enthusiasm and the characters took on a life of their own. As you are drawn into this tale listen to the journey that the characters are taking. All of them are learning to cope with difficulties. All of them have some difficulty with prejudices and communication – whether through understanding a different language, paranoia concerning others opinions of them or just because they are different in appearance.

This tale could be written and re written because it is not the story of just one community……………..it could be any community and is happening in different ways all the time hence the never-ending story. As one recovers and accepts a new life another’s journey begins…………………….

Patients spent nearly two years putting together this fantasy story based on the recovery model. The story is fun but with a serious message. The stage the backdrops and all the puppets have been created by a group of four (sometimes five) patients and staff. They are very proud of their work and are looking forward to the forthcoming performances.

This is a piece by one of the patients:

For the past 14 months, I have been involved in making the models, backdrops and props for the Never Ending Story. I began making Nippimuki the frog and the judge. We made them using papier mache with a plastic milk bottle inside for support, which I found a bit messy and shaky. I was glad once they were dry and I could paint them. I enjoyed seeing the characters emerge. It was funny seeing the words turn into characters. We all got very involved in the story and wanted a positive outcome. Everyone was very ‘hands on’ and enthusiastic, we all enjoyed the moment when the story came to life.

I also got involved in deciding where and what backdrops we needed. I painted two backdrops—the smashed up pumpkin one and the Hard Rock Café. The café backdrop was very detailed and involved some collage work, as well painting.

After all the backdrops and props were completed, I was involved n the performance. It was exciting to see the backdrops, figures and performance all come together. My part in the performance was to help move the backdrops into position and add sound effects for the characters (not dogs though). We eventually filmed our performance and are now waiting for the Recovery Day—Grass is Greener Where it’s Watered, for our last performance.

Towards the end of rehearsals it was suggested performers might like black T Shirts to present a uniform appearance. These were duly ordered, but when they arrived were found to be a tad on the small side. The Art Department added a few feet of fabric and the fitted much better.