Theatre as a Remedy for Winter Blues: Beating “Blue Monday” with Dr Theatre
Written by Sarah C for Theatre and Tonic
Leaving the house on a dark, cold, wet January evening is a hard sell. But schlepping to the bowels of South London to watch a play about Auschwitz is what a psychiatrist might call a 'precipitating factor' in a full-on breakdown; especially if you are one of the millions suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder.
20 years ago, the pseudo-psychologist (marketing expert), Cliff Arnall, coined the term 'Blue Monday' to describe the day of the year when the majority of people felt at their lowest. To sell holidays. Arnalls’ contributing factors included daylight, weather, post-Christmas debt, and failed resolutions. His findings proved to be entirely on the codswallop side of science and massively flawed. Nevertheless, this time of year (not a magical 24 hours of a random Monday) can leave most of us feeling pretty miserable and wanting to hibernate. I identify as a tortoise.
Among other things, theatre has a unique magic that brings people together, can change hearts and minds, makes you roar with laughter, motivates, inspires, and even prompts you to attempt a full-on tap dance down Shaftesbury Avenue at 11 pm.
Mamma Mia! The Party is a very popular ‘feel-good’ show. They actually heat the auditorium to 24 degrees, although the New King's head in Islington, 4 floors down, is pretty toasty at present! You get some great performances, ABBA all night, Greek food, cheap wine, and a dance party afterwards. Or you could fly to Greece for a week and get all that at half the price.
So if you're as skint as a lot of us at this time of year and staying in the UK, here's Theatre & Tonics's top 5 shows to chase away the bluest of Mondays. Or any other day of the week!
1) Paddington The Musical - heart-warming, cuddly, London in the sunshine, and lots of laughs. At The Savoy Theatre until February 14th 2027.
2) Just For One Day: The Live Aid Musical - Joyful, nostalgic, funny, positive music, celebratory, and brilliant tunes. At The Shaftesbury Theatre until February 7th.
3) SIX - boppy, empowering, shinney, and you'll leave actually knowing the order of Henry VIII's wives for the next pub quiz and playing at The Vaudeville Theatre throughout January at least.
4) The Mousetrap - nostalgic, brilliantly written, comforting like winter stew, and a simple, good old-fashioned great story. At The St. Martin’s Theatre until the end of the world!
5) My Neighbour Totoro - enchanting, whimsical, feel-good, nostalgic, with cute characters. At The Gillian Lynne Theatre until at least August 2026.
Our *wild card*, because who knew a show about 9/11 could be heart-warming, is Come from Away. It's very emotive but celebrates community, kindness, compassion. The music is uplifting, energetic, and a reminder that humans are essentially good. Although it’s currently not on the stage in the UK, the soundtrack alone is worth a listen!
Other shows mentioned were: Back to the Future, The Play That Goes Wrong, The BFG, The Producers, Titanique, and Austentatious. To name a few. Or go to a stand-up gig any day night of the week in London, but lots of towns have a great stand-up scene.
In recent years, The Samaritans have rebranded the third Monday in January "Brew Monday": see what they did there? The idea is to ‘reframe’ the notion of Blue Monday and acknowledge that people struggle all year round. It’s “an opportunity to grab a cuppa with friends, colleagues, in person or virtually, to counter feelings of loneliness and promote connection”.
As a thoroughly ashamed non-tea drinker, I will probably stay under my duvet and cuddle my Paddington Bear until Tuesday morning, when miraculously everything will change. If you can't get to a theatre for whatever reason, there's always National Theatre at Home with NT Live, or watch some good old Alan Ayckbourn monologues on YouTube.
The Samaritans are open 24 hours, and you can call and talk about anything, don’t wait until you reach a crisis point. And remember, after darkness, (in Lyrics from Next to Normal) “There will be light”.
Go to: https://www.samaritans.org/branches/central-london/brew-monday-2024/ Or call the Helpline 24 hours a day on: 116 123
Love and Light from Sarah and the Theatre & Tonic team.
