The Black men’s Consortium has been running for two years. A weekly-based drama project it has two arms – one for young Black men (between 18 and 26 years) and the second for men (between approximately 30 to 60 years). It is led by Tony Cealy a Black experienced actor and playwright. Together the group explore mental health issues. There is improvisation, sketches and various performances. As the men work together to develop the performance, they often build friendships, and share advice on what has helped them deal with different issues in their own lives.

One key benefit is that there is always an end product – the performance which is taken out into the community. The community can get involved by shaping what happens in the performance making suggestions on how to address issues/challenges which are close to home. For instance, the number of Black men taking their own lives. People who attend the performances come alive and often say ‘We need to do more of these’ and ‘My brother/dad/uncle should be here because they’re experiencing the same thing.’ The entire process demonstrates how much the group itself feels held and supported and able to open up about key issues. The project was commissioned by a number of public bodies but only for 6 weeks, they also received a small pot to provide mental health support to Black men during the pandemic. Tony has continued the work largely without the funding.

The future would see them established and operating as a charity. This is something that they are working on at the moment with the support of another Black organisation. Success would lead to them having the funding they need to deliver more efficiently and not having to barter or do without in order to deliver their work.