Latest news with #Clue
Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mirror
'We're empowering women's health - new police guidance pushes us back'
Clue CEO Rhiannon White speaks to the Mirror about the detrimental effects of the new police guidance, which allows for period tracking apps to be checked should police suspect an illegal abortion We're deep into our digital era. Kids are forming relationships with AI chat bots, shops and services are going purely online and healthcare is following suit, as a new AI tool is being developed for the NHS which seeks to predict who is about to fall ill. And so it is no surprise that the digital revolution on menstruation apps has arrived. For the past decade, period tracking apps have replaced the traditional calendar for tracking the menstrual cycle. I remember marking X's on my wall calendar until the age of 16, before downloading Flo and keeping track digitally. According to the National Institutes of Health, an estimated 50 million women worldwide use period tracking apps. Of the big three - Flo, Clue and Period Tracker - there are 250 million downloads combined, as per a University of Oxford study. As a teen, this private and anonymous digital space was a godsend, as my GP was only referred to in emergencies for anything regarding my menstrual cycle. As I grew older, I was usually brushed off by my doctors for any period related issue - and I know I'm not alone in that experience. My period tracking app - with everything from on-hand expert advice and content about women's bodies and sexual health, to personalised advice regarding my menstrual cycle - helped to fill a huge information gap in my life. So when new guidance revealed that police would have access to this safe space should they suspect an illegal abortion, it felt like something special had been ripped away. It is another form of surveillance women would have to submit to. The guidance, quietly released in by the National Police Chiefs' Council in January, states that women who experience a sudden unexpected pregnancy loss, if they suspect a miscarriage, stillbirth or early labour is the result of an illegal abortion could be investigated by the police. The guidance further states that women could have their homes searched for evidence of abortion drugs and their phones seized for their search history, period tracking apps or fertility apps checked for evidence of whether they were aware of their pregnancy. The Mirror heard from popular period tracking apps Flo and Clue, who said they were "shocked" and "outraged" over the new guidance. Now, in an exclusive interview with Rhiannon White, CEO of period tracking app Clue, the detrimental effects of the new guidance were brought to the surface. 'What I find so upsetting about all of this is that it perpetuates the huge gap in women's health,' White told The Mirror. 'There's a lot of talk about the diagnosis gap, the treatment gap and the pain gap, but at the root of all of this is a data gap.' White explains that women's health has long been an afterthought, a prime example being that women weren't mandated to be included in clinical trials until 1993, as stated in the NIH. 'Even today, 75% of trials don't include women in them and those that do include women don't disaggregate the data by sex, leaving the impact on women unclear. And 80% of drugs that are withdrawn post-market are because of unexpected side effects on women. We don't know the most basic information,' she added. Clue is working to fill the data gap, with the permission of women who use the app to use their data to research health issues like PMS, endometriosis and other glaring women's health issues that seem to be ignored. 'If we don't do [the research], no one else is doing it for us, so I can't tell how upset I am as the new guidance just pushes us back even further," White said. To understand the data gap in women's health further, you only have to look at the eight-year long NHS waiting list for an endometriosis diagnosis as one prime example. According to the charity Endometriosis UK, as of 2024, it takes an average of eight years and 10 months to get a diagnosis of endometriosis. Knowing that the police guidance could deter women from tracking their symptoms and, in turn, contributing to what could be lifesaving research in the long run not only affects our gender, but also our society. 'The horrible truth is that reproductive surveillance has been a feature of female life forever, but the possibility of using this data to help (when it's of course properly anonymized and people are given permission) to push forward the research gap is really huge,' White says. 'It strengthens everyone's health when women are healthy.' The new police guidance unnecessarily pushes back on the progression of women's health going digital. According to 2024 research by Bupa, women have embraced digital healthcare, with 73% of women open to using technology to improve their health and wellbeing, and Rhiannon has seen this too through her work at Clue. She said: 'We really see a very powerful opportunity in supporting women and empowering women in that respect and taking charge of their health because bluntly we have to because no one else is going to do it.' In the face of increased reproductive surveillance, worrying developments around women's bodily autonomy, and mounting societal pressures, White hopes women can filter out the noise with one mission: to protect their autonomy and trust their own instincts. 'I just want women to be able to choose what's best for them and have the information so they can make those choices,' White concludes.
Toronto Star
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Toronto Star
Can you turn a board game into a play? ‘Clue' at Mirvish tries, but doesn't successfully roll the dice
Clue 2.5 stars (out of 4) By Sandy Rustin, based on the screenplay by Jonathan Lynn, directed by Casey Hushion. Until June 8 at the Royal Alexandra Theatre, 260 King St. W. or 1-800-461-3333 'Clue,' the whodunit murder mystery now running at the Royal Alexandra Theatre, is itself a bit of a mystery. But the clue to cracking open this 'Clue' is right in its subtitle. Sandy Rustin's 80-minute comedy is billed as being 'Live On Stage!,' a tag line suggesting it hews closely to its source materials: the popular board game of the same name and Jonathan Lynn's 1985 movie spinoff, which featured the likes of Christopher Lloyd and Madeline Kahn. Indeed, for better or for worse, this stage product is a faithful translation of the board game and the movie, as if both were plucked out of their original mediums and dropped onto the stage. Fans of either will almost certainly delight in this latest adaptation, filled with rewarding Easter eggs and directed with exasperating physicality by Casey Hushion. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW But judged as a piece of theatre alone, 'Clue' plays it far too safe and, as a result, never completely satisfies. It's not just that Rustin's comedy rarely finds success in rolling the dice; often, it doesn't even dare to touch the dice. The play's setup is simple enough: six individuals, each concealing their true identities with aliases, receive a curious invitation to a dinner party at Boddy Manor. There's Colonel Mustard (David Hess), a blockheaded Pentagon official; Mr. Green (John Shartzer), a skittish government worker; Miss Scarlet (Sarah Hollis), a seductive brothel manager; Mrs. Peacock (Jennifer Allen), the wife of a prominent U.S. senator; Professor Plum (Evan Zes), who's employed by the United Nations; and Mrs. White (understudy Mary McNulty, on for Donna English on opening night), a serial wife whose husbands have been mysteriously murdered or disappeared. The cast of the North American touring company of 'Clue.' Evan Zimmerman/Mirvish The guests all share one thing in common: they're Washington, D.C., insiders each being blackmailed by Mr. Boddy (Mark Jude Sullivan), who's arranged this meeting in an attempt to settle some scores. The evening, however, stewarded by the buttoned-up butler Wadsworth (Jeff Skowron), soon goes south when the lights turn off and Mr. Boddy is turned into a lifeless body. And when the lights turn back on, it's up to the sextet — joined by Wadsworth — to deduce who among them is the killer, before the cops arrive and arrest them all. Much of the fun of this production is seeing a top-notch cast embody these larger-than-life characters. Allen, especially, is a hoot as the haughty Mrs. Peacock. So too are Skowron as Wadsworth and an incredibly acrobatic Shartzer as Mr. Green. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Lee Savage's scenic designs also do a lot of the heavy lifting. Boddy Manor is rendered here with brilliant detail — complete with side rooms, trap doors and mysterious passageways. But none of these elements can quite help this production overcome the faults in Rustin's stilted script. Aside from the physical comedy, many of the jokes fall flat. And Rustin's dialogue seems more concerned about shuffling the characters from one part of the stage (or board) to another, than developing the play's narrative. When we're through, there are so many plot holes that the final twist ending feels like an easy cop-out. Throughout, I wished the material took more risks and embraced its theatrical setting, instead of borrowing so much from Lynn's dated screenplay. (A running gag about Mr. Green being a homosexual Republican should have been excised long before this production ever made it to the stage.) The cast of the North American touring company of 'Clue.' Evan Zimmerman/Mirvish Another missed opportunity: the play could have further explored the political subtext that's tantalizingly teased at the top of the show, then later all but forgotten. In the end, if 'Clue' too neatly resolves its mystery, there remains one unanswered question hanging over this production: why did a hugely successful board game IP need to receive such a thoroughly mediocre theatrical brand extension?
Edmonton Journal
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Edmonton Journal
Alberta Youth Theatre Collective reviews Austin O'Brien's Clue
Article content The ensemble wasn't just moving set pieces – they were moving the show forward with style, precision and a healthy dose of ridiculousness. Far from being simple stagehands, Tomas Peter Lepki, Taras Struk, and Ayla Austin brought their own flair to the story. They helped make the world of Clue feel hilariously alive, proving that in this murder mystery, even the 'bodies' in the background were stealing the spotlight. No mystery is complete without atmosphere, and Austin O'Brien nailed it– thanks to a perfectly timed pit band that added punchlines with every musical cue. The set design was cleverly simple yet effective, with four coloured doors representing different rooms in the mansion, allowing for fast, chaotic transitions. Posters of each guest hung in the theatre and were spotlighted at key moments, adding cinematic flair, while the lighting team brought drama and suspense to every twist, death and ridiculous reveal. Together, these technical elements elevated the comedy and kept the audience fully immersed in the madness. In the end, it didn't matter who did it– the real killer was the comedy presented by the cast and crew of Austin O'Brien! A murder mystery this funny should be considered criminal.
Globe and Mail
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Globe and Mail
Mystery solved: Clue at Mirvish is a delight
Title: Clue Written by: Sandy Rustin Performed by: Jennifer Allen, Mariah Burks, Donna English, David Hess, Sarah Hollis, Jamil A.C. Mangan, John Shartzer, Jeff Skowron, Mark Jude Sullivan, Elisabeth Yancey and Evan Zes Director: Casey Hushion Company: Mirvish Productions Venue: Royal Alexandra Theatre City: Toronto Year: Until June 8, 2025 It's 1954. McCarthyism is running amok across Washington, where no one is safe from investigation – not the politicians greasing the wheels of American power, not the cooks and maids keeping their homes and certainly not their wives and escorts. It's a tense time, and in Clue: On Stage, Sandy Rustin's terrific theatrical adaptation of Jonathan Lynn's iconic 1985 screenplay, the game is, as they say, afoot. The play is relatively faithful to both the film and the board game that inspired it, a mystery predicated on cheesy sight gags and – you've been warned – a veritable murder of puns. When six D.C. power players find themselves at the home of the mysterious Mr. Boddy (Mark Jude Sullivan), his cook (Mariah Burks), his maid Yvette (Elisabeth Yancey) and his butler Wadsworth (the fabulous Jeff Skowron), they soon realize something's not right. Before long, there's a murder, and, à la Agatha Christie, it's up to them to figure out whodunit. Of course, you know these colourful party guests well. There's the bumbling Colonel Mustard (David Hess), who takes things so literally even Amelia Bedelia would be impressed. Mrs. White (Donna English) has a suspicious number of dead ex-husbands, while Mrs. Peacock's (Jennifer Allen) life partner is a powerful senator. Mr. Green (John Shartzer) is a nervous Republican who may or may not have voted blue in the last election, and Professor Plum (a Stanley Tucci-esque Evan Zes) has an even more lurid secret of his own. And Miss Scarlet (Sarah Hollis) seems to know one or two of these men from the D.C. nightlife scene – which is bad news for them, if word gets out. Director Casey Hushion's cast has great chemistry, punchy comic timing and a strong sense of physicality – an important trait in a slapstick comedy such as this one, which frequently sees the party guests tumble over each other like puppies in pursuit of murder weapons and brass keys. Rustin's script, too, preserves the campy political smarm of the film – you can expect more than a handful of jokes at the United States' expense. (Elbows up, could-be murderers!) It's a shame Clue's touring set, designed by Lee Savage, is a bit flimsy – slammed doors rattle the entire Boddy estate in a way that doesn't seem to be intentional, and the Royal Alexandra Theatre's narrow proscenium makes for a few sightline issues when murders happen at the very edge of the stage. When London's Grand Theatre co-produced Clue with the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre last year, Brian Perchaluk's set was wildly imaginative, a spinning, two-floor dollhouse spring-loaded with secrets. Savage's set isn't bad, but theatre fans who saw Perchaluk's – which at the time seemed firmly anchored to the stage without any sightline concerns – might feel a touch shortchanged here. That's a minor complaint, though, for a production that lives up to its marketing materials: Clue really is fun for all ages. The McCarthyism of it all is sure to make the adults in the room chuckle – same goes for the raunchy jokes about 1950s prudishness and secrecy – while the wacky accents and proximity to the board game will easily sate the more bookish kids in the audience. The breakneck 80-minute runtime, too, ensures there's not much room to get bored. Plus, on the design side, Jen Caprio's costumes are just gorgeous – Miss Scarlet's plunging, form-fitting evening gown, in particular, has been tailored to perfection. Performance-wise, it's worth singling out Skowron, whose performance as Wadsworth was just right on opening night. Without any spoilers, the seemingly buttoned-up butler is written in a way that might become tiresome in the hands of a less agile actor. (His final monologue, in particular, has the capacity to become exhausting for both actor and audience.) Skowron doesn't overdo it, and the end result is truly entertaining. His accents could use some work, but hey, it's Clue, not Shakespeare – a missed word or two in RP dialect is no cardinal sin. All this to say: Clue is an utter delight. Mystery solved.
Daily Mirror
23-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mirror
Period apps 'outraged' at new guidance to search women's phones if they miscarry
Leaders of period tracking apps Flo and Clue have shared their thoughts on the new guidance allowing police to seize a woman's phone and check their period tracking app if she miscarries Popular period tracking apps have revealed that they are "shocked" and "outraged" over the new guidance from the National Police Chiefs' Council, allowing police to check a woman's period tracking apps she experiences pregnancy loss. The guidance, quietly released in January by the NPCC states that women who experience a sudden unexpected pregnancy loss, if they suspect a miscarriage, stillbirth or early labour is the result of an illegal abortion could be investigated by the police. The guidance further states that women could have their homes searched for evidence of abortion drugs and their phones seized for their search history, period tracking apps or fertility apps checked for evidence of whether they were aware of their pregnancy. According to the National Institutes of Health, an estimated 50 million women worldwide use period tracking apps, and of the big three - Flo, Clue and Period Tracker - there are 250 million downloads combined, as per a University of Oxford study. Rhiannon White, CEO of Clue, told the Mirror that they were "shocked and outraged" at the UK police's development and clarified that Clue "have never, and will never, disclose private health data to any authority." White said: "We have spoken loudly on this subject, particularly in the US since Roe Vs Wade was overturned in 2022. This same position applies to every region around the world. As a business, we have built our foundations on protecting women's rights to data privacy, body autonomy and health equity. We want to provide some clear and immediate actions women can do today to protect themselves better, alongside knowing our continuing commitment to protecting Clue members and their data privacy." White confirmed that Clue members can request to have their personal data deleted at any time, explaining that "members will always have full control and autonomy over their own personal information." "We have never and will never share health data with authorities. We will aggressively challenge any such requests and will never allow our members' data to be used against them," the statement concludes. Similarly, Sue Khan, Vice President of Privacy at Flo Health told The Mirror: "Women deserve to be able to use technology to learn more about their bodies and their personal health, without fearing their data will be unjustly used or taken in a way they have not agreed upon." Khan added: "Not only do these actions breed fear and hostility for women who are already going through an undoubtedly traumatic medical experience, they set a dangerous precedent for weaponizing technology built to serve women's needs." She ended her statement by encouraging users to protect their privacy further by implementing the apps' Anonymous Mode, "a first-of-its-kind technology that gives you the option to access the Flo Health app without your name, email address, or any technical identifiers being associated with your health data. This means nobody, not even Flo, could identify you if pressed.' A spokesperson for the NPCC told The Standard that an investigation would only be initiated where there is credible information to suggest criminal activity. They said: "This would often be because of concerns raised from medical professionals.' They also told The Observer that unexpected pregnancy loss was not 'routinely investigated' and 'any investigation of this nature will always be treated with the utmost sensitivity and compassion'. If you are pregnant or a new mother and you are in crisis, the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline provides free, confidential support 24/7 in English and Spanish. Call or text the hotline at 1-833-TLC-MAMA (1-833-852-6262).
