Policy Theatre co-created with people who have lived experience of Gambling Harms

As part of BEING HUMAN festival.

Join us for a live performance inspired by and co-created with people who have lived experience of gambling harms.

The event is an opportunity to showcase a short piece of theatre, performed by actors that reflects people's shared lived experiences, as well as an opportunity to work together with you, the audience, to find solutions to the harmful systems and policies that negatively influence people's experience and recovery, in the hope these can then be translated into ideas for new protocols, policies or even laws!

We would love to invite you to be part of this process.

Warning: This piece deals with themes of mental health and suicide

This project is a form of 'Legislative theatre'. Although we do not have a policy team who will be held accountable to make the proposed changes, we will be facilitating live policy making in the room and creating a manifesto for change.

Together we:

Watch: We will perform the play based on lived experiences and research, addressing themes such as:

The 24 hr accessibility of gambling

The catch 22 of self certification

The mass advertisement of gambling

The high rates of mental health and suicide related to gambling

Act: Audience members will step onstage to improvise alternatives, testing new rules and policies in real time.

Propose: Audiences, advocates and policymakers collaboratively shape these ideas into policy proposals, followed by deliberation and amendments.

Vote: Everyone votes on the proposals, and we will create a MANIFESTO FOR CHANGE asking everyone in the room to continue to address and challenge the harmful systems and policies that negatively influence people's experience and recovery.

The findings (from the performance/project) will be shared with the advisory board of UKRI’s Building a Secure and Resilient World Strategic Theme, chaired by the Executive Chair of the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).

This project has been funded by MACC with further support from SALIENT.

This event is part of Being Human Festival, the UK’s national festival of the humanities, taking place 5-14 November 2026. Led by the School of Advanced Study, University of London, in partnership with the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the British Academy. For further information please see beinghumanfestival.org (http://beinghumanfestival.org/)

Help and Support

If you or anyone you know is struggling with Gambling Harms please check out what help is available near you.

Chapter One: https://www.chapter-one.org/how-and-where-to-get-help

If you need urgent help: https://www.chapter-one.org/crisis-and-support

GamCare: 24 hr Helpline: Call 0808 8020 133

Thriving Together: A space for women impacted by gambling https://www.thrivintogether.org.uk/

Description supplied by the event organiser.