THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF CAMBRIDGE WILL ATTEND A CHARITY PERFORMANCE OF ‘DEAR EVAN HANSEN’
Noël Coward Theatre, London
Tuesday 25th February, 2020
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will attend a special performance of ‘Dear Evan Hansen‘ at the Noël Coward Theatre on Tuesday 25th February, which is being held in aid of The Royal Foundation. Their Royal Highnesses will watch the show and meet members of the cast. The Duke will make short remarks at the end of the performance.
‘Dear Evan Hansen’ tells the timely and timeless story of Evan, a boy who is struggling to connect in our hyperconnected world. The award-winning musical spans generations and has been credited with helping to start important conversations about mental health between parents and teenagers.
The issue of mental health is a key priority for The Royal Foundation which works to tackle the stigma and encourage more people to talk openly about their mental health. Shout 85258, a free and confidential 24/7 UK text messaging helpline that supports people in crisis and was developed by The Royal Foundation, is one of four not-for-profit partners of the show which provide mental health resources to audiences and beyond.
The Duke of Cambridge is currently spearheading Heads Up, a season-long campaign which uses the influence and popularity of football to show the nation that mental health is just as important as physical health. It follows on from the Heads Together campaign which convened eight charity partners with one voice, encouraged more people in Britain to talk openly about mental health than ever before, and led to more people accessing services as a result.
The Royal Foundation is also supporting efforts to provide children with the best possible start in life, recognising that with greater focus on the early years, we can better provide solid social and emotional platforms for children to make them healthier and more resilient later in life.
In January, the Duchess of Cambridge launched a nationwide survey on the early years – ‘5 big questions on the under 5s’. Conducted by Ipsos MORI, it aims to spark the biggest ever conversation on early childhood that will ultimately help bring about lasting change for generations to come. The survey follows eight years of work by the Duchess of Cambridge in which she has explored how experiences in early childhood often lie at the root of the hardest social challenges the country faces today.
‘Dear Evan Hansen’ features a book by Tony Award-winner Steven Levenson, a score by Academy Award, and Tony and Grammy Award-winning composers Benj Pasek & Justin Paul (‘The Greatest Showman’) and direction by four-time Tony Award nominee Michael Greif (‘Rent’; ‘Next to Normal’). The musical opened at the Noël Coward Theatre in the West End in November 2019; the show is also playing on Broadway, where it opened in 2016 and won 6 Tony Awards, including Best Musical.
