THE York theatre company Out Of Character bring mental health issues out into the open in their work, and more exposure will come their way from Thursday when they perform at York Theatre Royal for the first time.

Based at York St John University, the company comprises people aged from their late 20s to their mid-50s who use mental health services and has emerged from theatre courses delivered to them by theatre students and staff at the university.

Supported by Gemma Alldred, a National Health Service-funded education support worker, they already perform a range of work not only in York but also in the wider region. Now comes their first liaison with York Theatre Royal, whose associate director, Juliet Forster, is directing this week’s Studio production of Tales >From Kafka.

The nine members of Out Of Character have been rehearsing every Thursday in preparation for the 50-minute show, an experience that cast member and company chairman Christian Foster has found very rewarding. “The theatre workshops at York St John and my involvement in Out Of Character have helped to re-build my self-confidence,” he says. “Being in a group environment where you begin to feel safe again has been a significant part of the recovery period, and now the opportunity to perform at York Theatre Royal is incredible.”

Nick Rowe, a theatre-as-therapy lecturer at York St John, set up the course with Gemma, having found that people with mental health issues were experiencing difficulty in gaining access to educational opportunities. The students in the first year of the course subsequently wanted to set up a drama group and they have since taken assorted piece to mental health conferences and performed a full-scale production at York St John entitled Enchantment, very loosely based on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Juliet Forster ran a one-day workshop with the company last summer and immediately wanted to forge a stronger link. “I really enjoyed the experience,” she says. “They were very interesting to work with, quite quirky, with very difference experiences and backgrounds that would never normally be brought together in a group.

“What was instantly apparent was that they were passionate about theatre. That’s not to say there isn’t something therapeutic about doing theatre to understand ourselves, but they’re also very keen to break down the stigma that surrounds mental health.

“I saw a possible slot in the summer programme for them and we took it from there.”

Juliet has adapted some “absolutely fascinating and bizarre” early and less well-known short stories by Franz Kafka to devise a play from five weeks of weekly sessions on the themes of alienation and understanding yourself. “We can all identify with those issues,” she says.

“Kafka suffered from fear and an almost crippling inability to move his life forward. He had such low self-esteem and real anxiety and was such a restless sleeper that he once said he felt he’d been rejected by sleep. Problems with sleeping was something that all the cast could associate with.”

Juliet hopes Out Of Character will further their links with the Theatre Royal. “They’re part of the community and they should have a voice here,” she says. “This is a theatre that should be used as a platform for our community, and they’re very interesting group of people who don’t normally get the opportunity to be heard,” she says.

“So it would be great if their shows could become a regular event here as you know the company of actors would grow from the experience.”

Out Of Character present Tales From Kafka in The Studio, York Theatre Royal, Thursday to Saturday, 7.45pm. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk