Lifeline: a musical on antimicrobial resistance — a short film on arts-based public engagement and Master of Public Health education at the University of Hertfordshire

This short film documents a public engagement and Master of Public Health (MPH) education activity organised by the University of Hertfordshire at Lifeline, a musical on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) staged at Southwark Playhouse Elephant in May 2026 by Charades Theatre Company. Lifeline dramatises Sir Alexander Fleming's discovery of penicillin alongside contemporary clinical narratives of resistant infection and stewardship-supported recovery, supported by a rotating chorus of real-life clinicians, scientists and policy-makers under the patronage of Professor Dame Sally Davies, UK Special Envoy on Antimicrobial Resistance.

The film accompanies a JAC–Antimicrobial Resistance Viewpoint by the same authors arguing for arts-based public engagement as a recognised, funded component of antimicrobial stewardship education and AMR public health communication. It is intended as an educational and dissemination resource for clinicians, MPH and other postgraduate students in public health and pharmacy, AMR and stewardship educators, and members of the public engaging with AMR for the first time.

Keywords: antimicrobial resistance; antimicrobial stewardship; AMR; public engagement; arts-based health communication; health humanities; Master of Public Health; MPH education; One Health; pharmacy education; theatre and health; Lifeline; Charades Theatre Company.