New music, books, websites, apps, podcasts, workouts, You Tube videos and other recommendations to help you unwind during lockdown.

Listen: The Anchoress – The Art of Losing
This second album from Welsh-born multi-instrumentalist The Anchoress (aka Catherine Anne Davis) has been getting rave reviews across the board. Clearly influenced by fellow female counterparts such as PJ Harvey, Tori Amos, Bat for Lashes, Karen O and Kate Bush, expect this album to feature on many End of Year Best of lists.

YouTube Fitness: OFFICIALTHENX
Chris Heria, the driving force behind popular fitness YouTube channel OFFICIALTHENX, has been in the fitness industry for more than 10 years. He’s also the founder and CEO of the fitness program ThenX, a workout routine focusing on calisthenics and weights. OFFICIALTHENX is full of videos with calisthenics workouts for people of all abilities.

Audio Book: The Sandman
This is a proper blockbuster adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s graphic novel with James McAvoy, Riz Ahmed, Michael Sheen, Taron Egerton, Andy Serkis and Miriam Margolyes all involved. It’s not just a straight radio play either. Audible promises that this one will rewrite what you can do with audio drama, just like The Sandman did with graphic novels.

Podcast: Today in Focus
Given how quickly everything’s moving at the moment, anything more than a 20-minute catch-up can feel out of date almost immediately. The Guardian’s daily podcast is an essential primer on the broader implications of this crisis, and its recent episode on how Covid-19 took hold in Italy is thorough and avoids alarmism.

Podcast: Get Sleepy
Can’t drop off? This meditative, deeply reassuring podcast will soothe you, even if you’re in a deep rut of agitated nocturnal fretting. Think of these half-hour stories as fairytales for adults, with New Age soundscapes and mindfulness techniques thrown in, which gently draw you into drowsiness. It’s like going to a spa, but it’s free.

Listen: Tom Grennan – Evering Road
Tom Grennan’s highly anticipated second album marks a bold and exciting new chapter. Named after the East London address Tom shared with his then-girlfriend, it’s a hub of love, heartbreak and redemption. Includes the soaring first single ‘This Is The Place’ and the soulful, introspective ‘Oh Please’.

Helplines: Whilst we hope you never need to use this this, here are the details of our Whistleblowing helpline.

Whistleblowing Hotline is Navex (Expolink was taken over a year ago). Here are the URLs for the EthicsPoint Web Platform:

www.trafalgarentertainment.ethicspoint.com
(to use for printed materials or emails)

https://secure.ethicspoint.eu/domain/media/en/gui/106642/index.html
(to use for links within electronic formats; i.e. websites)

Helplines: Don’t forget there are also two employee helplines available to you. Details below. All the assistance helpline details can also be found on the iTrent, employee self-service portal on the front page carousel.

The Theatre Helpline is a free telephone and email service that provides help and advice to theatre professionals.

Trained staff are available to talk to anyone working in the theatre industry to support you with a wide range of topics that might be affecting your personal or professional life such as bullying or harassment, health issues including mental health, injury and mobility problems, career issues including professional development and training, retirement and care in later life and debt and financial issues.

For all non-theatre staff, the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) offers telephone counselling, health advice covering a wide range of medical and wellbeing issues, personal legal and financial information with an online portal system loaded with further information and templates for your use.

Both services operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and all calls and communications are 100% confidential. 

THE THEATRE HELPLINE
Call 0800 915 4617 or email [email protected]

EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAMME
Call 0800 107 6147 or visit the online portal  www.colleaguesupport.co.uk
(enter code 72135 as your username and password)