OLD TIMES' Alex Dower to Debut Short Film THE DUEL at Harold Pinter Theatre, March 28

Related: Old Times, Alex Dower, The Duel, Harold Pinter Theatre

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Actor and film-maker, Alex Dower, currently playing the understudy to Rufus Sewell in Old Times at the Harold Pinter Theatre, is to premiere a short film called The Duel at the London venue on Thursday 28 March at 3pm.

The premiere, which is hosted by Alex's company Creating Freedom and arts organisation CNWL Arts in Health, will consist of a screening of the film, a "making of" documentary and a Q&A session.

Written and Directed by Dower, The Duel is set in the Napoleonic Wars and brings us into the world of D'Hubbert; a soldier injured in battle and facing death.

Last summer, Dower was commissioned by CNWL Arts in Health, a service based in community mental health settings led by arts psychotherapists who run projects parallel to mainstream psychiatric services in Brent - to work with a group of people with complex and enduring mental health issues in Epsom.

The participants in the film project are all residents of Horton Rehabilitation Service within Central & North West London (CNWL) NHS Trust; and they play all the main roles in the film.

Alex Dower said, "The idea behind the film was to train a group of residents with complex and enduring mental health issues, together with nursing staff, in the highly effective 'Science of Acting' technique, and have them act in a high quality short period drama.

"We spent five weeks training the participants, developing characters and devising the plot with improvisations and then filmed for five days on location around Epsom. The result is an atmospheric and engrossing 10 minute drama with remarkable performances. Filming on location was very beneficial for the participants, as was the experience of working together with others on a creative and positive project.

"The consultants and nursing staff within the service noticed a clear impact on many of the participants' symptoms and behaviours during the project and there was one patient who was able to move out into a community supported accommodation as he made significant progress during and after the project.

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