Culture crackers

(Photograph) - Art and science mix this week as the Y Touring Theatre Company brings the trauma of mental illness to the British Association for the Advancement of Science conference in Leeds. Cracked, a play set around a 17-year-old's struggle with depression, will be followed by a debate between the audience and experts in neuroscience, brain chemistry and genetics on mental illness and mental health.

Funded by the Wellcome Trust, the play is intended to promote understanding and informed debate about mental illness. Cracked is currently touring the country, after a season at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and will culminate with a week-long run at London's Mermaid Theatre in October to coincide with the 750th anniversary of the Bedlam Hospital.