Julie Lang
Playwright Éimi Quinn
This contemporary black comedy was billed as, ‘a new play about assisted dying’. It isn’t, although assisted dying is a central theme. Veteran actor, Janette Foggo, versatile Helen McAlpine, and newbie Kyle Gardiner, gave the faithful PPP audience an entertaining hour in Éimi Quinn’s lively play.
Diane is in her seventies, widowed, terminally ill, and living alone with mobility problems. Now housebound, the only people she sees regularly are Julie, her carer, and Connor, her young postman. She has had a long and happy life, but she does not want to go on any longer. ‘This isnae livin’, she tells them, ‘It’s jist no bein’ deid!’ She has been in touch with Dignitas, the assisted dying facility in Switzerland, but realises that she can’t afford to go there. After a conversation, along the lines of, ‘you can’t be serious!’ and ‘are you sure?’, her friends hatch a money-making plan to fund her one-way trip. Quick-witted humour turns to farce as Julie creates video content of herself as a sexual dominatrix and Connor sells the footage online. The slapstick involves the contents of a large Anne Summers carrier bag, and includes poignant reflections by Diane about her own sexually active days. She is tired now of her ailing body and feels that it is, ‘time to let it go’. ‘It’s myself I miss’, she explains, and she sees her assisted death as her opportunity to regain power in her life. Women’s empowerment is important to Julie too when she finds the courage to confront her cheating husband. The play’s conclusion is consistent with the plot.
Éimi Quinn was a teenage cancer survivor, and her play takes on one of the most important political issues of our time. She believes that although the topic is dark, ‘laughter is one of the best ways to get people to engage with things they might otherwise avoid’. She describes the play as ‘madcap and chaotic’, and I agree with her, but if it generates conversation about assisted dying, then she has done a good job. I came away with the impression that assisted dying as a topic has almost become mainstream.
I had the opportunity to speak with a number of people at the venue, front-of-house and production staff, as well as some members of the audience. Apart from one couple, everyone was in favour of assisted dying.
The play will be showing over the coming weeks in Glasgow (24 Feb-1 March), Edinburgh (4-8 March), Paisley (11-12 March) and Aberdeen (18-22 March).
