Creative podcast project launching across Manchester to help socially isolated people during lockdown.
A creative lockdown music and arts project is launching to help people across Manchester who are feeling lonely and isolated.
The Armchair Adventures interactive podcast launches on Thursday, November 12 with a large interactive online event with 50 school bubbles, together with older people.
Armchair Adventures is a creative response to COVID-19 by theatre-based CIC Made by Mortals and their theatre group for over-55s, Hearts & Minds.
Based in Tameside, they have created an interactive podcast series, with activity packs and online sessions, which takes the listener on an adventure of the imagination. They will launch two more episodes before Christmas and another three episodes in 2021.
Andy Smith, director at Made by Mortals, explained, “There are many people who are suffering from isolation and loneliness from the restrictions around COVID-19.
“There are many care homes which still don’t know when they will be able to allow visitors, so the continued isolation of residents looks set to continue. Many children missed six months of schooling, and many of them may still be suffering from the effects of the isolation that entailed.
“We created Armchair Adventures in conjunction with the Hearts and Minds theatre company we support and work with to continue our inter-generational music and theatre work – just with a slightly different twist.
“It has been designed so that the activities are accessible to everyone and we are limited only by our imaginations.”
Additionally, Made by Mortals has funded 600 packs which include an MP3 player and printed activity pack to distribute to older people across Greater Manchester, who might not have access to the internet.
Bolton At Home has also funded a number of these packs for older people they work with.
Additionally, Action Together (Tameside) has contributed to the project and are also supporting the distribution of packs to digitally-excluded people.
Made by Mortals is also running a number of online sessions with schools across Greater Manchester, Cheshire and North Wales for primary school age children.
Made by Mortals works with a diverse range of people who would not usually engage with the arts, and who live on the fringes of major cities and are at risk of exclusion and isolation for many reasons, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The organisation is grateful to National Lottery players and the Government for supporting them with funding to carry on their activities with communities in the North West.
