Theatre show asks people to write letters to themselves

Letters To Myself was written by Becci Sharrock after meeting individuals and groups around Sunderland and South Shields.

Writer Becci Sharrock penned Letters To Myself after spending six months working with people across Sunderland and South Shields.

As she met people, she handed out letter writing kits and collected the resulting letters.

She said: “Letters To Myself came about after hearing lots of friends talk about problems or situations and finish by saying something along the lines of, ‘I know what I’d say to myself if I were you’.

“I’m fascinated by the idea that we are sometimes unable to give ourselves the same brilliant advice that we give to friends and family.

“I’m interested in how we might become better at talking to ourselves, and what advice we would offer if we could.”

The show is coming to Arts Centre Washington, in Fatfield, on Thursday, September 8.

In January, Becci was awarded seed funding from The Cultural Spring which allowed her to test her idea with a whole host of groups from Sunderland and South Shields.

She said: “Working with Cultural Spring has been amazing and has allowed us to get out and about, meeting so many interesting people along the way.

“We’ve been in libraries, cafes, empty shops, talked to writing groups and WIs and even run workshops in schools.

“At every session we hand out free letter writing kits and simply ask those that we meet to consider writing a letter to their past, present or future selves. Then, if they want to, they can send it back to us so we can use it in the making of the show.”

Becci added: “It’s been so inspiring to read everyone’s stories and experiences. People have been really generous and open with us and that’s a real privilege.

“The pressure’s now on us to make a show that does justice to that. We can’t wait for everyone to see it, to meet some of our letter writers again and see what they think and finally to get the show out on the road.”

Anyone who would like to write a letter for the project can do so by visiting www.letterstomyself.org.ukLetters To Myself has been supported by Cultural Spring, The Sammy Johnson Memorial Fund and using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.

Tickets for the 7.30pm show cost £8.50 with a £6 concession. To book, go to www.artscentrewashington.co.uk or call 0191 561 3455.