The Death Show Podcast

Episode Five: The War Photographer

Hello death explorers! This is the last in the current series of death chats, and we are ending with a pretty special one. In this episode we’re speaking to photojournalist Paul Conroy, about his vast and varied life experience. Throughout our death research we’ve talked a lot about how to find meaning, and what it means to lead a ‘good life’ (whatever that is), and we were both really inspired by how Paul has managed to do both. His incredible work and consequential near death experiences have shaped his life, given it a clear purpose and fully drained his fear gland!  We should warn you, our conversation covers some sensitive and very intense subject matter that some people may find upsetting. Paul has written a compelling book about his final assignment with journalist Marie Colvin called Under the Wire [https://www.waterstones.com/book/under-the-wire/paul-conroy/9781787478275]. It is an epic account of Paul and Marie’s last, tragic assignment together in Syria in 2012.  In 2018 Under the Wire [https://www.underthewiremovie.com/] was also released as a major feature documentary, and then adapted into the feature film A Private War [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2368254/], starring Rosamund Pike and Jamie Dornan (released in February 2019). You can also follow Paul on Twitter @reflextv [https://twitter.com/reflextv?lang=en] Sadly the death knell has now tolled for our first series of The Death Show podcast, but we hope to be climbing aboard the coffins again and sharing more death ruminations in the future. In the meantime please keep the conversation going, and watch this space.  If you have enjoyed this series, then please rate and review as it helps more people to find the podcast in the listings. We’ve also now finished touring our show, but you can check out our website www.thedeathshow.co.uk [http://www.thedeathshow.co.uk/] and social media pages for more details about what we are up to. * Podcast produced by ASFB Productions * Theme song co-written by Spence Cater with Arbie J www.spencecatermusic.com [http://www.spencecatermusic.com/] * This podcast is supported using public funding by Arts Council England

Episode Four: The Skydiving Psychologist

Hello fellow death friends! In this episode we’re speaking to Clinical Psychologist, Dr Patricia Fox, about two of our favourite subjects - death and fear. Patricia works at Birmingham Children’s Hospital and has an extensive knowledge of mental health conditions, so we were keen to speak to her about our ongoing ‘thanatophobia’ (a fancy word for death anxiety). The good news is that we’re probably not as weird as we’d thought. The bad news is that we’re probably not brave enough to face our fear of death head-on by jumping out of a plane like Patricia! Although sadly skydiving isn’t on the cards for us, we really appreciated Patricia’s insight and expertise and her specialism in paediatric psychology led to discussing a topic we frequently get asked about - how to discuss death with children. We promise this is definitely not as grim as it sounds! You can connect with Patricia on LinkedIn via https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-patricia-fox-b3948790/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-patricia-fox-b3948790/] We’ve now finished touring our show (thanks to everyone who came to see us!), but you can still check out our website www.thedeathshow.co.uk [http://www.thedeathshow.co.uk/] and social media pages for more details about what we are up to. * Produced by ASFB Productions * Theme song co-written by Spence Cater with Arbie J www.spencecatermusic.com [http://www.spencecatermusic.com/] * This podcast is supported using public funding by Arts Council England

Episode Three: The Paramedic Winchman

Welcome back death ponderers! In this episode we’re talking to Andy Elwood, a men’s mental health specialist and former paramedic winchman whose career has shifted from administering physical first aid to championing mental health first aid. During his 20-year career in the Emergency Services, Andy saved many lives as a Paramedic on Search and Rescue Helicopters. Now he works to save lives with Mental Health First Aid, and focuses specifically on advocating for more awareness of men’s mental health and the high rates of male suicide in the UK. We really enjoyed talking to Andy about his varied career and experiences, and are very grateful to him for taking the time to come and chat to us. Just a heads up, Andy faced some pretty intense challenges while he was working in Afghanistan, so there are some potentially upsetting topics covered. Grab a cup of tea and have a listen to our conversation with someone who’s been a lot closer to dying than we ever have. Check out Andy’s website www.andyelwood.com [https://www.andyelwood.com/] where you can find out more about his work. Andy is also on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Andy has also posted some useful links to mental health support services on his website: Samaritans [https://www.samaritans.org/] – 24/7 helpline if you need help now 116123 CALM [https://www.thecalmzone.net/] – Campaign Against Living Miserably – Helpline 0800585858 Movember [https://uk.movember.com/mens-health/mental-health] – Month focused on men’s – parity of physical and mental health Mental Health First Aid England [https://mhfaengland.org/] – half-day, one-day & 2-day courses And if you want more… then come and see our show! We’re packing up the coffins and coming to London to perform The Death Show at Camden People’s Theatre from Thursday 30th Jan - Saturday 1st Feb 2020. Tickets can be booked at www.cptheatre.co.uk [http://www.cptheatre.co.uk/]. Check out our website www.thedeathshow.co.uk [http://www.thedeathshow.co.uk/] and social media pages for more information about the show. * Produced by ASFB Productions * Theme song co-written by Spence Cater with Arbie J www.spencecatermusic.com [http://www.spencecatermusic.com/] * This podcast is supported using public funding by Arts Council England

Episode Two: The Undertakers

Hello funeral friends! Welcome back to The Death Show Podcast. In this episode, we are delighted to be joined by death industry professionals, Carrie Weekes and Fran Glover. Together they founded ‘A Natural Undertaking’, an independent, Birmingham-based undertakers that empowers and supports people to create personal and considered funerals for their loved ones. Carrie and Fran had different reasons for wanting to become undertakers, but they were united by a single thought that ‘funerals can be done differently’. Simple, modern, traditional, green or accompanied by a Cornetto – when it comes to funerals and memorials, the choice is yours! We were really lucky to spend time with Carrie and Fran as artists in residence whilst making our theatre show, and we’re so pleased to be chatting to them again as part of this podcast. Note: If you think you might ever have to plan someone else’s funeral or you may have one of your own (there’s a good chance), then you might just find this episode comes in very handy! Tara for now, bab! Check out A Natural Undertaking at https://www.anaturalundertaking.co.uk/ [https://www.anaturalundertaking.co.uk/] They are also on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. We also mentioned BrumYODO - a community interest company setup with the aim to encourage and support more people to have conversations and death and dying. BrumYODO are doing lots of exciting things in Birmingham (including running an annual festival called ‘A Matter of Life & Death’). Read more about their work here https://brumyodo.org.uk/ [https://brumyodo.org.uk/] and follow BrumYODO on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. And if you want more… then come and see our show! We’re packing up the coffins and coming to London to perform The Death Show at Camden People’s Theatre from Thursday 30th Jan - Saturday 1st Feb 2020. Tickets can be booked at www.cptheatre.co.uk [http://www.cptheatre.co.uk/] You can also visit our website www.thedeathshow.co.uk [http://www.thedeathshow.co.uk/] and social media pages (Twitter [https://twitter.com/The_Death_Show], Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/thedeathshowbham/] and Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/the_death_show/]) for more information about the show #TDSPod * Produced by ASFB Productions * Theme song co-written by Spence Cater with Arbie J www.spencecatermusic.com [http://www.spencecatermusic.com/] * This podcast is supported using public funding by Arts Council England

Episode One: The Theatre Makers

Hello, we’re Antonia and Lucy - theatre makers, performers and two halves of the wholly life-affirming theatre production, The Death Show. As an extension of our show, we’re launching a brand new podcast all about death! A subject matter many of us find tricky to discuss, despite the fact that it happens to us all eventually. We’re on a mission to get more people talking about death, because the more we talk about it, the less scary it is (we promise!). So we hope you’ll join us, as we peek behind the velvet curtain and lift the veil on the D word. In the first episode of our mildly morbid podcast, we’re giving you a backstage pass to some of our thoughts on the 'final taboo', a bit of background on our motivation for making The Death Show and the chance to hear a little snippet of the script (show tickets normally retail around £12, so this podcast is a bargain!). Join us for some end of life chat and our death-themed Q&A. Together we’ll cover the big stuff, like the certainty of death and the eternal empty void in front of us all, plus some of the less pressing questions, such as would you rather die from a pointy stick in your bum or a giant leech on your face? And if you want more… then come and see our show! We’re packing up the coffins and coming to London to perform The Death Show at Camden People’s Theatre from Thursday 30th Jan - Saturday 1st Feb 2020. Tickets can be booked at www.cptheatre.co.uk [www.cptheatre.co.uk] You can also check out our website www.thedeathshow.co.uk [www.thedeathshow.co.uk] and social media pages for more information about the show. Facebook: /thedeathshowbham [https://www.facebook.com/thedeathshowbham/] Twitter: @The_Death_Show [https://twitter.com/The_Death_Show] Instagram: the_death_show [https://www.instagram.com/the_death_show/] * Podcast produced by ASFB Productions * Theme song co-written by Spence Cater with Arbie J www.spencecatermusic.com [www.spencecatermusic.com] * This podcast is supported using public funding by Arts Council England