Caregiving is expensive, life altering, emotionally-trying, and far more common than most people imagine. Over one million Canadians provide care at home for the chronically ill, equivalent to the work of 276,000 full time employees, saving the health care system over 5 billion dollars annually.¹  Employees juggling work and family cost Canadian employers at least $2.7 billion a year in lost time, and employees miss 19.8 million days of work each year due to work-family problems.²  36% of informal caregivers are over the age of 70.  31% have a household income of less than $25,000.  An estimated 46% are clinically depressed.³  The stories are all around us. Caregivers themselves need help: training, resources, and the opportunity to share their stories with others. 

  Heal Thyself uniquely captures the drama of this national concern.  Organizations are already planning to use the project for workshops and conferences.  Heal Thyself is a wide-reaching opportunity for consciousness-raising in the general public, and above all, for equipping and affirming family caregivers.

  The show is directed by alternative-theatre veteran Dennis Hassell (founder of Brookstone Theatre, 14 Dora Award nominations), with music by Subtonic Monks co-founder Peter Jarvis.  Heal Thyself is produced by Imagiscape Theatre and is a project of the charitable arts society IMAGO.

  Heal Thyself has three elements: the touring stage show, the documentary for broadcast and DVD, and the DVD version of the stage show. 

Heal Thyself pits the creative spirit against its ultimate test - serious caregiving.  
Can families rendered desperate by sickness create healthy homes?    

While this play is rooted in family caregiving, professionals and non-caregivers 
deeply identify with the dynamics of these characters' relationships - 
both in their personal lives and in their work.