NOW Festival celebrates ten years
More than 300 children and young people from across Merseyside recently graced the stage of St George’s Hall Concert Room for Liverpool’s tenth annual NOW Festival.
Over three evenings, audiences were treated to powerful performances revisiting themes from previous years, including education, violence prevention, belonging, and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), all through a mental health lens.
Marking Children’s Mental Health Week, the annual festival is organised and directed by Merseyside Youth Association’s (MYA) RAISE mental health promotion team in partnership with Liverpool’s Children and Young People’s Mental Health Support Partnership NHS Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board (ICB) Liverpool Place, the Merseyside Violence Reduction Partnership, the Growing Stronger Programme, Liverpool Learning Partnership and Liverpool’s Child-Friendly City.
Back in 2016, NOW Festival set out to engage children and young people across the city in creative conversations about mental health through a focused ‘NOW’ theme. A decade later, despite the challenges of a global pandemic and finding a new home after the closure of the Epstein Theatre, this annual festival has only grown stronger.
The NOW Festival has driven many significant ongoing mental health initiatives in Liverpool. Damian Hart, Principal Development Manager at MYA, explains: “We’ve seen the creation of online resources—animations, websites, and the revised Resilience Framework; one of the acts informed suicide prevention work, while mannequin displays across the city educated thousands on children’s rights, contributing to Liverpool’s journey to be recognised as a UNICEF Child-Friendly City.
“Other outcomes include the ROAR Response to Mental Health in Education programme and a city-wide review of mental health in schools. The creation of the ACEs project coordinator role has developed the city’s Growing Stronger Framework. Collectively, these initiatives strengthen mental health systems and awareness across the city.”
Once again, the performances tackled important issues that matter to children and young people in our city. Windsor Primary School’s performance, “Displaced,” delved into the profound impact of the war in Ukraine on children. The piece highlighted the mass displacement resulting from the conflict, which has stripped children of their fundamental rights and exposed them to severe trauma. The narrative centered on Anton, a young Ukrainian refugee starting at a UK school. Through his journey, the performance showcased his development of resilience, the formation of new friendships, and his efforts to overcome the prejudice he faced from some individuals around him.
St Julie’s Catholic High School’s ‘Wrong Place, Wrong Time’ was a hard-hitting and powerful drama that tackled violence in our city and challenges the culture of keeping quiet for fear of being labelled ‘a grass’.
Alsop High School’s Year 9 students recently participated in the Spellow Community Hub and Library reopening ceremony in Walton. Their performance featured original poems and songs, reflecting on the community’s resilience following the library’s destruction during the riots in August 2024. The students’ contributions highlighted themes of unity and hope, celebrating the library’s restoration as a symbol of collective strength.
Damian added: “On behalf of Merseyside Youth Association (MYA), I extend heartfelt gratitude to the children, young people, and supporting staff who made this year’s NOW Festival a resounding success. May their voices inspire decision-makers, encourage essential conversations and driving changes to positively impact the mental health and emotional well-being of families in our great city.
“Of course, everyone is responsible for playing their part. This has to be backed up with wide-ranging support from the Government, including Local Authorities, Education, Health, Social Care, The Police and broader systems and structures to help and provide further support.”
Visit the NOW Festival website.
Pics: Dave Brownlee Photography
Notes to editors:
About the NOW Festival
The NOW Festival was founded in 2015 by Kath Thompson as part of her work with the RAISE Mental Health Promotion Team at Merseyside Youth Association. Kath envisioned the idea of an arts festival whilst teaching Performing Arts in South Africa, where she worked across several young people’s arts festivals and saw first-hand the empowering effect these festivals have on young people.
The NOW festival aims to engage young people in a creative discussion around mental health through whatever ‘NOW’ issue is chosen by the team and young people’s steering group.
- 2016 Mental Health & Technology – Friend or Foe to our Mental Health
- 2017 Mental Health & the Rights of the Child
- 2018 Mental Health & My Education
- 2019 Rise Up – Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) & Resilience
- 2020 Belonging and Mental Health
- 2021 Mental Health & Listening to the voices of children and young people during COVID-19. (An online event)
- 2022 Mental Health & What Needs to Change to Bounce Forwards.
- 2023 Mental Health & Violence Prevention
- 2024 Mental Health & Overcoming ACEs
