When making a new show it is always encouraging to find elements of the show cropping up in the news. Today you may have noticed a story in the UK media about patients suffering from mental illness – including depression – being prescribed visits to the library. This ‘reading cure’ tallies almost perfectly with ideas around The Anatomy of Melancholy, propounded by Dr. Mary Ann Lund. She suggests that Robert Burton wrote his amazing book both as a guide to curing melancholy but as a cure in itself, the act of reading consoles the reader. Hopefully visiting the theatre to see our adaptation of the text will perform much the same role.