IMH hosts "Breakthrough! A research cabaret"

“What good is sitting alone in your room? […] come to the [research] cabaret, old chum!”

"Breakthrough! A research cabaret" was run as part of the Being Human Festival and featured live performances from researchers, local musicians, and persons with lived experience of illness.

Taking place before a sell-out crowd, the evening—expertly compered by event organisers, Dr Louise Creechan and Mary Robson—saw everything from original songs and poetry readings, to stand-up routines and reflective dialogues. The cabaret stage provided a unique space for performers to share their perspectives on a wide range of human experiences, including neurodiversity, headaches, dreams, and the menopause.

Speaking after the event, Dr Creechan said “The cabaret was intended to be a fun, campy, jazz hand-sy way into our research, but the evening was so much more than that. While we definitely brought the camp, the evening was also filled with moments of vulnerability which made the event unexpectedly (and beautifully) moving.”

Audience members enjoying reflections on headaches from Professor Amanda Ellison (Photo credit: Jason Ruffell Photography).

Sincerest thanks go to our cabaret contributors—Inglenook, Ariel Swyer, Dr Veronica Heney, Dr Adam Powell, Mary Robson, Dr Louise Creechan, Stephen Groves, Professor Amanda Ellison and Professor Jane Macnaughton—for sharing their time, talents and insights with us.

We were also delighted to be joined by Professor Sarah Churchwell, Festival Director for Being Human, who later tweeted: “Returning from a wonderful @BeingHumanFest event in Durham last night which treated us to a Research Cabaret by a very talented group of medical humanities researchers”.