Radiography students moved by powerful drama

The play, ‘#Hello, My Name Is’ was commissioned in 2018 by St. Gemma's Hospice in Leeds and launched at the hospice in May 2018.

It dramatises the story of the personal heartbreak, resolve and determination experienced by Dr Kate Granger and her husband Chris Pointon before, during and beyond Kate’s cancer diagnosis.

Award-winning playwright Brian Daniels was commissioned to write the play which is around 45 minutes in length and played by two professional actors.

Actors perform #Hello My Name Is to health care students at Derby University (Photo: Dr Emma Hyde)

A very personal story

The play weaves the very personal story from Kate and Chris’s first meeting to the point at which they created the ‘Hello, my name is’ campaign. Students learnt about Kate’s ‘bucket list’ and how thrilled she was to know that her and Chris’s healthcare initiative was already, during her lifetime, on the lips of tens of thousands of healthcare professionals.

In September Brain Daniels and his production company, Pluto Play Productions performed it in front of 180 students all studying various health care degrees.

These courses ranged from Diagnostic Radiography, Adult Nursing, Occupational Therapy and several others.

Q and A

A Q and A held after the play involving the director and various students from across the college ensured that interprofessional discussion took place. Different themes and ideas on how the central message of the “#Hello My Name is” Play” can radically affect a patient’s life were discussed, including Kate’s legacy and the effect she had on the NHS.

Brian and his production team have been amazing and I cannot speak more highly of them with the way they approached Kate’s story.

The medium of theatre is highly effective as it evokes relevant themes and emotions for students around the area of patient-centred care.

This was a fantastic event which I would recommend all Universities to offer to their students who are studying Health Care Professional degrees.

One student said after the play “It gave a massive insight into the importance of the basics - from something as simple as ‘Hello, my name is’ can change lives.”

Another student said, “The simplicity of the play kept the focus on the story without any distractions, it was very informative and has made me look at things from the patient and employee’s perspective.”