A collaboration between award-winning writer Ravi Thornton, award-winning director Benji Reid and critically acclaimed composer Minute Taker, brings us the hard-hitting and heartbreaking musical HOAX My Lonely Heart.

HOAX is one of hundreds of poems that were written by Roabbi (Rob), the younger brother of Ravi Thornton. Sadly, in 2008, after a long battle with schizophrenia, Rob committed suicide at the age of just thirty one.

The musical takes the poem HOAX and uses it to explore the events taking place in Rob’s life in the six-month period prior to his diagnosis as a schizophrenic and leading to his first major psychotic episode. It examines events that led him to compose the poem, drawing deeply on his emotions, from facts and from fragments of remembered conversations.

HOAX My Lonely Heart is a dark piece of theatrecentred on two characters Rob and Helen, their love-fuelled relationship which hinges on their co-dependency and the self-sabotage that ultimately results in their breakdown.

The show is also part of a cross-media project and, in addition to the stage performance, a graphic novel (HOAX PSYCHOSIS BLUES) is also due to be published. Where the stage-play concentrates on events before Rob’s diagnosis, the novel picks up several months afterwards. Ten of the world’s best comics and graphic artists have contributed to the novel, including Brian Talbot (The Adventures of Luther Arkwright), Rian Huges (2000AD), Julian Hanshaw (Observer award winning The Art of Pho), Hannah Berry (Britten and Brülightly) and many more.

An academic research project into Medical Humanities will also form a third facet of the project.

HOAX My lonely Heart is being performed in The Studio at The Royal Exchange Theatre from the 4th – 7th June 2014.

The Studio, Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester
Wednesday 4th – Saturday 7th June 2014
Performance Times: Friday, 7.30pm, Saturdays, 8pm
Ticket Prices: £12 / £10 concessions
Box Office: 0161 833 9833.

On-line: www.royalexchange.co.uk/bookonline www.royalexchange.co.uk