Daniel films miniseries looking at impact of lockdown on mental health on teenager
A young actor from Deeping St James has filmed a miniseries developed to support teenagers’ mental health, in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Daniel Heath (20) is one of ten young actors from Peer Productions’ Actor Development Programme performing in 50 Days: Alone Together, which launched last week.
It follows the lives of a small class of year 12 pupils as they check in, via video conferencing software, with their form tutor over the first 50 days of lockdown.
50 Days: Alone Together is available to view for free on YouTube. It also is supported by a website full of resources for parents, carers and teachers and an Instagram account which breaks the series down into bite-size content for young people (@50daysalonetogether).
The series is timely, as research shows that the pandemic is having a negative impact on the mental health of young people.
A report by the National Youth Agency found that one million young people (8–19) have self-reported mental health issues, and the report expressed concern about the impact of the pandemic on the youth suicide rate, which is already high, and the ‘normalisation of self-harm’.
The report estimated that there are around two million young people with emerging needs triggered or caused by COVID-19, and many more with hidden or unforeseen consequences from the pandemic.
Daniel, who plays the character Jacob who is gay but hasn’t come out yet, says: “I loved playing Jacob, who is fun, lively and carefree, but it was challenging trying to find a nuanced portrayal of a gay character in such a short space of time.
“Lockdown has caught up with me slowly, but when it did it ruined some friendships with people, because I’m not good at maintaining a friendship over text.
“I need to see people face to face.”
Daniel credits The Peterborough Revellers, an amateur dramatics society who put on a regular calendar of shows in the city, for getting him interested in drama.
Daniel, who joined the group when he was 13, added:“I started doing tech and stagehand work, and I first went on stage in 2015 as part of a Halloween Variety Show.
“I loved my last role, playing Mole in Wind in the Willows in 2019.”