Premiered 24 June 2004, The White Bear Theatre, London
Darrin Grimwood's Verity Bargate nominated play tells the harrowing story of life in a South London care home and the terrible possibilities that exits in a world in which those who enforce the rules are free from any rules themselves.
Artistic Director THE WHITE BEAR THEATRE
"A
fine production" JOHNNIE LYNE-PERKIS
Associate Director THE LATCHMERE THEATRE
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Black
Aspirins has a lot to offer. Sharp one-liners, surreal images
and well defined characters are sure to keep an audience entertained.
True to writer Darrin Grimwood's experiences as a night worker
in a mental asylum, the story teeters on the brink of sanity and
madness. Left scandalously ill-equipped to care for such lost
souls, three social workers struggle to keep their rational perspective.
The result is a bleak portrayal of both the state of the NHS and
of the fragile human condition. Director Nic Saunders brings out
the horror of the script. In the absence of a clear protagonist,
he presents a vision of society at war with itself. The production
sustains a high level of energy [and] Nicholas Dawkes and David
Hepple give particularly strong performances as the downtrodden
helpers trapped in their lowly jobs. Sarah Broad's artfully disordered
set brings Grimwood's pressure cooker play to life. After 105
gripping minutes, we can almost smell the stench of the inmates'
dirty clothes. |
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David
Hepple's Terry is a terrifyingly realistic portrayal of a man
who has lost his way and much of his sanity working nights in
a mental home. His face barely registers emotion any more except
occasionally to widen his eyes in silent protest against Jimmy,
or in simple pleasure at watching underwater images on the television.
His demeanour is so hopeless and resigned that even at the play's
conclusion when he slips out of the home, seemingly to escape,
it is hard to believe that he will ever truly be free of the place
… Sterling performances make [this] worthwhile taking a look at.
CULTURE WARS |
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There's
a lot of telling detail in this drama set in a care home for the
mentally disabled : the mindless paperwork, heating system jammed
full on, chairs soaked in urine. It's clear that author Darrin
Grimwood knows this world - in fact, he worked in a care home
for four years before using his experiences for fiction. There
are strong and subtle performances by all three principal actors.
WHAT'S ON LONDON David Hepple as Terry is an effectively grizzled cipher as old-timer Terry who is drifting dangerously close to the carer/patient divide ... It's a brave ambition to incubate a psychotic nightmare in such parochial surroundings ... it feels like a Frank Skinner sitcom inspired by Jean Genet ... an intriguing proposition. TIME OUT |