Special events

• London Children's Ballet
• Mum's First Steps workshops
• ACM Gospel Choir
• 'St Nicholas'

London's Children's Ballet

In February 2010, the London Children's Ballet came to St Thomas' Hospital. Its 2009/10 season was based around a glorious new production of Snow White, a captivating ballet adaptation of this much loved magical story. Packed with all the intrigue, drama, humour and beauty of the original Grimm’s fairytale, the event proved to be totally unmissable.

Mum's First Steps workshops

The Performing Arts programme has helped bring the therapeutic benefits of the arts to new mothers across Southwark and Lambeth. In coordination with Southwark Health and Social Care, the 'Mum's First Steps' project has been developed to provide new mothers with a series of fun and interactive arts workshops that offer participants a way of sharing their experiences of motherhood.

Artists Ana Laura Lopez and Ceri Buck facilitated the workshops, encouraging women to share their experiences of childbirth and breastfeeding through drawing, creating collages and sharing stories and anecdotes. The project will help inform a handbook for new mothers, called ‘Mum’s First Steps’, which will then be given to mothers passing having their babies at St Thomas’ Hospital.

ACM Gospel Choir

In December 2009, the energetic and exciting ACM Gospel Choir came to St Thomas' Hospital to perform to patients, staff and visitors. The choir was formed in 2005, born out of an idea the choir's musical director Mark De-Lisser had to utilise the Academy of Contemporary Music (ACM) students’ infectious talent and enthusiasm.

The choir’s recent achievements include reaching the semi finals of the BBC One show 'Last Choir Standing' and supporting Russell Watson in his recent tour, in which he described them as "his favourite choir" from the BBC show.

'St. Nicholas'

In June 2009, the Performing Arts programme supported a five-date tour of ‘St. Nicholas’, a mesmerizing play about mental illness written by Irish playwright and director Conor McPherson.

In the 90-minute, one-man play, the audience is presented with the story of a drunken Irish theatre critic who becomes mentally unwell. However, his specific illness is unclear: he could have a psychosis, a bipolar disorder, or an alcohol-related condition.

Matt Ward, the lead actor in the play, also had a story to tell. Matt has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder (formerly known as manic depression) and is taking lithium. His own life story has been as colourful as the character he portrayed in the play.