COVID and Me comprises two series of monologues (short dramas), they were inspired by lived experiences of communities disproportionately affected by COVID-19, older people and those with co-morbidities, from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic groups, or from areas of social deprivation. COVID and Me comprises 13 filmed monologues, six focus on Vaccine research and seven focus on Covid 19 research; some are available in multiple languages to improve reach.

COVID and Me was developed to help build trust and explain the importance of taking part in research and vaccination. They address the beliefs and concerns of communities that are hesitant about research and vaccination and help provide correct factual information in an accessible format that overcomes health literacy.COVID and Me helps empowers people to make an informed decision about COVID-19 vaccines and research – encouraging inclusivity. Importantly the monologues engage audiences by being culturally relevant, by their use of humour.

Theatre of Debate (TOD) was approached by Prof Sue Pavitt to produce COVID and Me on behalf of the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) who funded the programme. The work was a co-production that worked in partnership with a range of underserved communities that were disproportionately affected by COVID-19. The goal was to underline the importance of COVID-19 research in developing treatments and vaccines for all.

Medical research is playing a key role in bringing the COVID-19 pandemic under control. The UK is delivering pioneering research studies into COVID-19, including to develop treatments and vaccines. We need as many people as possible, from every part of the UK’s population to consider taking part in these studies and help the NHS find the solution.

Covid-19 has highlighted once again the health inequalities prevalent in our communities. It is critical that the vaccination programs make greater effort to reach all parts of the UK, including those ‘underserved communities’ (those that seldom engage). This is because emerging trends suggest many underserved communities, including Black Asian and Ethnic Minorities communities, older people, those with co-morbidities and those from socioeconomically deprived communities, are at greater risk from COVID-19. These communities will potentially benefit from being prioritised for protective vaccination trials and because we want to ensure the results of any research are generalisable to a broad population.

Evidence shows however that many groups are consistently left behind when it comes to research, both because of cultural and social barriers and because of inequities in the health system.

To illustrate how people from different communities have been affected by the pandemic and to underline the importance of COVID-19 and vaccine research, we have created 13 short monologues to give the often unheard – a voice.

The Playwrights participated in a series of COVID and Me Generator workshops that explored the barriers to involvement in research studies from the perspective of the members of the underserved communities who participated in the workshops. Inspired by the lived-in experiences of the participants, the playwrights created 10 authentic characters, who appear in 13 monologues.

A monologue is a speech given by a single character in a story. In drama, it is the vocalisation of a character’s thoughts in literature, the verbalisation. It is traditionally a device used in theatre—a speech to be given on stage—but nowadays, its use extends to film and television.

These films are fictional pieces of storytelling drama funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The content of each film is an artistic interpretation based on authentic patient voices and therefore, the views expressed are not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care , Leeds University or Theatre of Debate

You will know your audience better than we do and you will have ideas on how you might use them – that said it might be helpful to know

There are 13 monologues

Each monologue lasts up to eight minutes

You don’t have to show each monologue and even if you choose to show only one, you could show it in sections – use the script to find breakpoints when preparing your activity.

7  of the monologues explore the theme of COVID 19 clinical trials research:

• ‘Shoulder to Shoulder’ (Asif) by Sudha Bhuchar performed by Peter Singh in English
• ‘Crossing the line’ (Varsha) by Sudha Bhuchar performed by  Shaheen khan in English
• ‘Carrots and Marigolds’ (Ed) by Jonathan Hall  performed by David Sterne in English
• ‘Chicken Pepper Soup’ (Ify)  by Farah Najib performed by Adaya Henry in English
• ‘The Call’  (Trudy) by Sarah Daniels performed by Clare Perkins in English
• ‘Important Person’ (Ollie) by Judith Johnson performed by Blaine Kelly in English
• ‘Awkward Fit’ (Kirsty) by Leanne Allen  performed by Cherylee Houston in English

Other language versions:

• ‘Shoulder to Shoulder’ (Asif) by Sudha Bhuchar performed by Peter Singh in Punjabi
• ‘Crossing the line’ (Varsha) by Sudha Bhuchar performed by Sudha Bhuchar in Punjabi

6 of the monologues  explore the theme of Vaccine research/trials/Vaccine hesitancy/fake news:

• ‘Hugs’  (Mandy). By Judith Johnson performed by Bella Hamblin in English
• ‘27 Across’  (Shelia ) by Jonathan Hall performed by Amanda Orton in English
• ‘I can hear you now’ (Jide) by Tunde Euba performed by Oladipo Agboluaje in English
• ‘Vacca’ (Ify)  by Farah Najib performed by Adaya Henry in English
• ‘Why not Me (Varsha) by Sudha Bhuchar performed by  Shaheen Khan in English
• ‘Tie up your Camel ’ (Asif) by Sudha Bhuchar performed by Peter Singh in English

Watch the trailer to get an introduction to the characters

If you are a teacher and planning to use the monologues as a resource in your school, it would be good to share with your colleagues to explore how they might use them across the curriculum i.e. science, drama, PHSE , Enrichment.

Each character has their own page which provides you with:

• a short introduction,
• a full length monologue,
• a downloadable script,
• audio and film snippets from the full length monologue that can be used to focus and inform discussions or to be shared with friends and family on social media

Several of the monologues have been translated into languages other than English:

• Why not me (Varsha) by Sudha Bhuchar performed by Sudha Bhuchar in Punjabi
• Why not me (Varsha) by Sudha Bhuchar performed by Shobu Kapoor in Hindi/Urdu
• Why not me (Nilufar) by Sudha Bhuchar performed by Leesa Gazi in Bangla
• Tie up your Camel ( Asif) by Sudha Bhuchar performed by Rehan Sheikh in Urdu
• Tie up your Camel (Asif) by Sudha Bhuchar performed by Apu Chowdhury in Bangla
• Tie up your Camel (Asif) by Sudha Bhuchar performed by Peter Singh in Punjabi
• Shoulder to Shoulder (Asif) by Sudha Bhuchar performed by Peter Singh in Punjabi
• Crossing the line (Varsha) by Sudha Bhuchar performed by Sudha Bhuchar in Punjabi

The monologues are moving, funny, engaging and inspirational but they might be challenging at times, especially if you or your audience have had direct experience of the Covid 19. In ‘Shoulder to Shoulder,’ Asif remembers his father’s funeral under lock down, in ‘Hug’ Mandy who describes herself as an overweight middle-aged woman with diabetes and a 20 a day habit tries to confront her fears of having the vaccine.