Laughter AFter Loss                      

Open to:  

Organisations, employers, charities/community groups or individuals who have been through a bereavement or loss.

There are no restrictions regarding how the people we work have suffered the loss e.g. when, who, or what. We simply ask that they self-identify as suffering from grief, loss or bereavement, that is having an ongoing impact on their life.

When: Drop In: Wednesdays 6 - 8pm @ Everyman Theatre
What is Laughter After Loss? 

Laughter After Loss is a new pilot project inspired by our cornerstone mental health support programme Feeling Funny, engaging with adults living in Liverpool to support their grieving journey through the power of laughter.

Should I really be joking at a time like this?...Laughter is not the type of emotion you’d expect to see from a person grieving, however humour is widely used as a coping mechanism by individuals experiencing adversity and trauma, so how can it help manage grief and cope with loss?

 

Comedy is a perfect, easy to access platform to ease tension, talk about difficult to access topics, increase understanding, reduce levels of stress, make an environment easier to form connections, reframe perspectives and promote feelings of happiness. Grief impacts us all both mentally and physically, laughter is known for its physical, emotional and social benefits.

 

So what can I get involved with? 
With thanks to the Liverpool City Council (administered by LCVS) we have a range of free to access activities across 2022 to support your wellbeing, these include: 

 

Drop In Group:
Our weekly drop in group will create a safe, inclusive space that is designed to help bring together like-minded bereaved adults to create connections, encourage open conversation surrounding the challenges of loss accompanied by a range of humour activities and approaches to promote healing.

 

Sessions create a warm, welcoming, relaxed and fun environment that brings light-minded people together to share their in every day stresses, address loneliness and improve mood. The aim of our drop in groups are to encourage friendships, provided light relief, and increase awareness and understanding that you are not alone in what you are experiencing. Our drop in session will also feature pastoral support for individuals needing additional support and guidance in how they are feeling.

Days Out / Experiences: On top of all that we will be hosting 5 days out / experiences in the city for bereaved adults to provide light relief and to meet like-minded peers whilst sharing a much needed giggle. This can include visits to local theatres, comedy venues and entertainment venues.

Well Funny Workshops:
Our Well Funny workshops are the perfect remedy to combat the blues and those creeping stress levels by bringing people together to provide a much needed injection of happiness and laughter into their lives in a fun, engaging and innovative way!

 

Sessions are one-off 1 - 2 hour interactive workshops that explore how humour can increase our wellbeing and help build resilience in everyday life through a series of comedy based games, group work and activities.

 

Workshops are open for groups of up to 20 and act as a great taster workshop if you're interested in our longer comedy programmes or drop in group. We have 10 free to access workshops available across 2022 for community groups, charities and organisations supporting bereaved adults

Comedy Course and Campaign: 
Channel your experiences through comedic art forms by joining us on our 9 week Comedy Course and campaign. Our free to access comedy course is designed to engage with bereaved adults that feel they are at a stage in their recovery where they are confident to utilise their experiences to promote social change through the creation of a comedy sketch routine that will be performed to an invited audience and run as an online comedy campaign normalising grief and all the emotions that come with grief.

 

Open to groups of up to 12 people, the comedy course runs for two hours a week across seven weeks culminating in a show to an invited audience of family, friends and colleagues. The programme is led by professional comedians and community outreach practitioners who guide participants through the fundamentals of comedy, teaching them how to curate their very own comedy performance (typically stand-up or sketch). The programme provides a platform for people to improve their mood, confidence, self-esteem and creative thinking. The course capitalises on using the light-hearted approach of humour as a tool to openly and creatively tackle difficult or stressful situations participants have faced in their lives such as low mood, difficult situations they've overcome, anxious thoughts and feelings and channel them through a comedic, positive lens. Programmes are adaptable and tailored based on participant's needs.