West End DEAR EVAN HANSEN to Hold Performance in Aid Of The Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

The West End production of Dear Evan Hansen will hold a special performance in aid of The Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on Tuesday 25 February 2020.

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, a 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.

Jason Knauf, CEO of The Royal Foundation, said, "Under the leadership of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the Royal Foundation has worked to challenge stigma around mental health and to shine a spotlight on the pressures young people face through social media. Dear Evan Hansen brings these issues to life with warmth and humour. We are very grateful to the show for helping us raise funds and awareness with this special performance."

Producer Stacey Mindich said, "We're so honoured to partner with The Royal Foundation for this very special performance. The Duke and Duchess have been incredible advocates for mental health and like Dear Evan Hansen, they have made important strides in helping to destigmatize the conversation. Shout is an incredible resource for people who are struggling, and we're so proud to have the organization as one of our not-for-profit partners in the UK."

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.

Photo Credit: Matthew Murphy