About Playtime

1 in 10 mothers is diagnosed with postnatal depression so there are probably many more undiagnosed. With postnatal depression costing NHS £45m annually & long-term costs of perinatal mental health issues reaching £8.1 billion, there's urgent need for new approaches to parental support.

As an artist, I started this project out of necessity. When I had my second child, I was diagnosed with postnatal depression. My dance and clowning practice kept me going and gave me the resources and the support that I needed at the time.

So I ask through this work – Can creativity and spaces of play, resource and support parents? How can we make visible the reality of parents? This question led me to create Playtime and explore ways to support parents. I am creating spaces of creativity for myself as an artist and so why not bring others along? I am making a show about my lived experience, and so why not bring other mothers/families along in the process?

During our recent three months R&D phase, we tested our family sessions and shared our performance: The Kids Are Fine.

The project reached 175 people. (Moving Words – 35 Participants / Big Play – 72 Participants / Performance Audience – 55 audience / Collaborators – 10 people)

100% of participants said they wanted more play in their life. Time being the most significant barrier to more play. 

50% of children participants in family sessions were under the age of 1 year old. This shows the crucial time and need for spaces of creativity for parents with young children.

100% of parents were mothers (some were accompanied by their partner). This also shows the need for mothers to find spaces for them and their children.

Sense of self and Identity

“I felt that the session made me think more about myself than us.” Moving Words participant.

“I really relish the opportunity that the space was for me and that we were encouraged to put ourselves first and that it was about us, as individuals.” Moving Words participant.

Connection & Trace

“I liked the idea that families have made something before, then there's remnants of that.

And then we're leaving things for other families, and they're developing and growing. We are creating alone but what we do has a life before us and beyond our time in space.” Big Play Participant

Space & Permission to play freely

“At home, you don't have enough space to throw cardboard and stuff around and run around and be stupid. So it was nice to have that big space to do that by having the permissions up on the board and not having to tidy.” Big Play Participant

Relaxed, Safe and Supporting Space

“Being on my own just meant that I felt like I could engage a bit more with them in their play and not feel quite so self conscious as if it was a group session.” Big Play Participant

“I loved that we could make a mess and leave it and not worry about it. And leave without tidying.” Big Play Participant

Funny and Relatable were the most used words to describe the performance. It proves that we showed reality in a way that was digestible (gentle, fun, poignant, provoking, uplifting, tender etc.) and truthful (authentic, universal, cathartic, validating).  

Choreographer / Director – Emma Zangs

In collaboration with – Marcel and Ernest Zangs      

Composer and Drummer – Cath Evans

Music composition – Ulysse Zangs

Costume Designer / Textile Artist – Alice Bygraves

Projection Mapping Designer – Robin Fuller

Poet – Helen Vine

Photographer and Videographer –   Denisa Ilie

Press / Administrator – Roanne Bell

Project Manager – Steph Townsend

External artistic support – Lucy Enskat and Abby Page

We value co-creation. Playtime is developed through open-ended play in the studio with both children and adults. The material that emerges during these sessions directly shapes our performances and sharings of the work.

We acknowledge the climate and ecological emergency and commit to creating work that considers the planet and its communities. This includes being mindful of the materials we use, the ways we travel, and the ethics guiding our process.

We place accessibility at the centre of our creative practice, so that everyone can fully engage, participate, and contribute.

Looking forward, the vision is to further develop The Kids Are Fine performance (including a no-tech and digital version), embed Moving Words and Big Play as longer-term offers for families, and expand the project’s reach beyond Norwich.

Emma is looking to connect with mothers and parents experiencing post-natal depression, collecting stories and opening creative spaces to resource their journey.

Every year, Emma records herself dancing with her children on Mother’s Day working towards showing the work in 2033 – as a moving portrait through motherhood.