DSM Foundation Celebrates 1,000th Performance of Play Telling the Story of Daniel Spargo-Mabbs
The DSM Foundation is proud to announce the 1,000th performance of the play that shares the story of Daniel Spargo-Mabbs, the inspiration behind the drug education charity.
The play, titled ‘I Love You, Mum – I Promise I Won’t Die’, was commissioned after Dan’s tragic death in 2014 from an accidental overdose of ecstasy. Award-winning playwright Mark Wheeller, known for addressing difficult subjects affecting young people, interviewed Dan’s family and friends to create a verbatim play that not only tells the story of the fateful weekend, but also gives a sense of the young man and the impact his death continues to have on those who knew and loved him.
Fiona Spargo-Mabbs OBE, Director, Founder, and Dan’s mother, stated, “Commissioning Mark Wheeller to write a play about our precious son Dan was one of the very first things we did as a drug education charity in the early months after he died. We wanted to do all we could as his mum and dad to make sure other young people were able to keep themselves safer than Dan had, and sharing his story with its important messages through this creative, engaging approach has been a lasting legacy of a life full of joy and hope, that ended in needless tragedy. Nine years on from its premier with Mark Wheeller’s youth theatre company, Oasis Youth Theatre, we’re just in awe that this story has now been performed one thousand times, to hundreds of thousands of young people – as well as being studied as a GCSE drama set text, and in drama lessons around the world.”
The 1,000th performance of ‘I Love You, Mum’ includes both virtual and live productions put on by schools, as the play is a GCSE Drama set text and is also performed by theatre companies. The DSM Foundation commissions Theatre in Education companies to perform the play and deliver accompanying workshops in educational settings, with Tie It Up having completed a tour in Scotland in autumn 2024, Ever Unique Productions undertaking the first-ever schools tour of Northern Ireland this spring, and Wizard Theatre currently performing in London academic institutions. Since the play’s inception, the DSM Foundation has commissioned over 700 live performances, with more than 125,000 young people having seen Dan’s story in this way.
Maya Briggs, pastoral coordinator at Queensmead School in Hillingdon, North London, where Dan traveled to for what turned out to be his final journey, which was the location for the 1,000th performance, added, “We have had the DSMF come in to deliver the play for a number of years now and will continue to do so in the future. The play has a clear and strong message which is important for the youth in today’s society. The children always thoroughly enjoy the play and speak about it long afterwards showing the impact it has had. Today was brilliant as always.”
Feedback from school staff is overwhelmingly positive, with one saying last term, “A really engaging performance of a hard-hitting piece of theatre. It will stay with all of us a LONG time. Excellent workshop – very informative but not too long so pupils stayed engaged. The delivery of both was pitched exactly right for this age group. Everyone felt they were being treated as young adults. Well done!”
Students also comment positively, with some examples being: “it was informative and education… by watching it in action and knowing it is all true, it makes you take it in and think more”, and “it educated you without someone speaking at you, the story meant you really listened,” as well as “dramatic and hard hitting because it could happen to anyone”, plus “it had a huge impact on me” and “thank you for coming into our school and spreading an important message”.
Leon Hamilton, Artistic Director of Wizard Theatre, which put on the 1,000th performance, said, “It is a great honour to tell Dan’s story and these last 7 years have been incredible. Watching the impact on the young people, teachers, and actors is amazing. Producing a true story has its challenges, of course, but the sense of understanding the audience comes away with is hugely satisfying, genuinely humbling, and never ceases to hit home how important this message is. To have had a story told 1,000 times is quite an achievement, but to have been performed mostly in schools with all the obstacles that can sometimes involve is another level of success. It is wonderful for Fiona, Tim, and Jacob to have Dan’s memory touch so many people, but more importantly, target the exact audience it is meant for. I am sure all cast and creatives that have ever been involved will agree, this is so much more than just another piece of theatre.”
David Chafer, producer of Tie It Up Theatre
Derick is an experienced reporter having held multiple senior roles for large publishers across Europe. Specialist subjects include small business and financial emerging markets.