A new play at Belgrade Theatre Coventry will be turning up the heat as four people join in a cookery class in which they are not only learning how to baste and bake but also discovering more about themselves and their lives.

Written by Birmingham playwright Sophia Griffin, After Sunday tells the story of three men who are confined to a secure mental health unit and their therapist Naomi who embark on a course in Caribbean cookery. By focussing on the healing power of food, the sessions aim to encourage the group to share their experiences and undertake their own personal journeys.

Birmingham actor Darrel Bailey, who plays Daniel, says the class provides an ideal space for discovering common bonds between people.

“The centre of the piece is the live cooking on stage and the characters are cooking food that represents their culture,” he says. “All the characters are of Caribbean descent and part of Caribbean culture is cooking and it gives you that sense of hope.

“Even if you’re not from the same culture as the characters, people should be able to relate to the fact that cooking food that is comfortable and that you love and enjoy brings that sense of hope to you.

“There’s funny interaction between the characters about how they interpret their way of cooking but everyone should be able to understand on some level the comforts of home and that includes cooking.”

But there is a lot more boiling in the pot.

“Daniel represents the middle class - he has a wife, two children and a home that he has had to leave behind being in a secure hospital. But he’s also representative of this stigma behind mental health and acknowledging it.

“In his own mind he has this lived reality that he feels that he had a little blip and all he has to do is go through this course and then when he completes it he will be fit to go back home.

“What drew me to the character was this notion of shame. The struggle to acknowledge that we do need help and there can be things in place, however flawed they are, that are designed to help you in these situations. Daniel’s journey is coming to a place where he feels comfortable within himself to ask for help and receive it.”

Fellow Birmingham actor and creator Corey Weekes plays Ty, a young man who still has time to turn his life around.

“Ty represents a lot of young men today who feel under-represented and who are in the systems which can cause that,” Corey explains.

“He’s been moved from prison to this secure unit. He’s the youngest man there and he’s at a point where he’s reckoning with the truth of the matter that he has a long-term mental health condition. His journey is all about the acceptance of that and the struggles that come from the journey towards that.”

For Corey, the production, which is directed by Belgrade creative director Corey Campbell, explores larger questions in society.

“I think it’s about the humanisation of people who often you just see in a mug shot or you just see a picture and hear the story of what they did when they were in the midst of a psychotic incident but you don’t see the person.

“Hopefully people will come and watch this show and see the person behind that story or that mug shot and then maybe next time when they see a mug shot they will question what that person’s story is rather than just thinking they are their crime or their incident.”

Corey Weekes stresses the show is fun while also exploring some difficult issues.

“There’s two sides to it. There’s the entertainment side, it’s a really exuberant show with the cooking and the jokes and the familiarity that comes with that kind of communal experience.

“But it’s also really topical. This is an opportunity to get an inside look at a place that we don’t really talk about.

“I think some people who watch the show will feel angry at the handlers of people with mental health and the system, the institution of mental health care. I also think something specific that people might feel is they might check on their friends.”

Both Corey and Darrel are from Great Barr in Birmingham and this is the first time they have worked together. As co-founder of Coventry-based That’s a Rap, which is a Belgrade Springboard company, Corey has worked with the Belgrade on a number of projects including its recent Romeo and Juliet.

“The Belgrade is the right place for After Sunday because the intent for the theatre is consistent from the top down,” Corey says. “Having worked there, I’ve really been able to understand what makes the place tick, and it truly is about serving the community that it resides in.

“I know that the creative director Corey Campbell, the chief executive Laura Elliot and the rest of the team have a vested interest in Coventry and I have full faith that they select work that they know is going to benefit and impact and start conversations with the people that live here. I think this is a conversation that needs to be had and I want to be part of that.”

And Darrel hopes the production is only a beginning of that conversation.

“There are a plethora of things that people can come away with from this show but I would like audiences to receive it, question it and go out on their own journeys and increase their understanding because I think when people increase their understanding and they gain empathy around people being presented in a situation we can progress as people and as a society.”

Feature by Diane Parkes

After Sunday shows at The Belgrade Theatre, Coventry from Friday 10 to Saturday 25 October