They were 30 hours that turned Matthew Henderson's life on its head. Back in March, the respected theatrical stage manager lost three friends to suicide, all of whom he had worked alongside in the entertainment industry.

"In this line of work, you create family when you are on the road, and that 30-odd hours affected so many people I know," Henderson says. "Suicide was something that had impacted my life when I was about 13, when I lost a good friend. Then it was every couple of years. Then I lost someone I knew or had worked with every year. Then it was a couple of times a year. When that day happened back in March, when three people I knew took their lives, I realised there was something wrong and we needed to fix it."

Matthew Henderson, production stage manager of The Lion King, who lost three friends to suicide in 30 hours in March. Credit:Simon O'Dwyer

Henderson, who is production stage manager for The Lion King, took to Facebook late at night to vent his thoughts. The next morning he had hundreds of responses from friends and colleagues. That encouraged him to contact Entertainment Assist, a charity helping workers in the entertainment industry.

Henderson learnt the problem was deeper that he realised.