Sam, Ava and Hamish are on night shift at a nursing home while they chat, bicker and gossip to get through the night. There’s just one problem – Jessica, the nurse on duty, hasn’t turned up for her shift, and a new patient needs his IV meds. Do they call their terrifying manager Laura and tell her Jessica hasn’t turned up, cope, or try to get hold of Jessica. And is she OK?
‘At the heart of it is a longing to be really free, to follow the path you always dreamed of ‘
Welcome to Ruth Platt‘s new play Big Dreams, premiering at Pegasus from August 27-29 with Driftwork Theatre Company, which delves into the complexities of navigating relationships, the struggle to do the right thing, and how to make life meaningful even if it isn’t going the way you’d hoped.
“Big Dreams is a play about two different generations caught in a liminal space, waiting, between things – for life to end, or for life to begin – and what happens in between,” Ruth explains.
‘I wanted to observe, with empathy and comedy, how two different groups of people, young and old, can both become a bit stuck’
Based on Ruth’s own experiences when her father had to go into care after a stroke, the local film maker, actor and playwright says: “I wanted to observe, with empathy and comedy, how two different groups of people, young and old, can both become a bit stuck in an institutional place like that, so Big Dreams has a lot to say about different aspects of life.
“At the heart of it is a longing to be really free, to follow the path you always dreamed of – hence the title Big Dreams – but with the knowledge that it isn’t always possible. So it looks into how to bring meaning and change to life around you and still leave a lasting impact,” Ruth adds.
‘Big Dreams is such a fun, poignant show’
The ensemble piece is all staged in the care home staff room with a cast of six young actors: “They bring a very special energy and chemistry to their performances and to their connection. One of my dreams was always to create a theatre company ensemble with regular actors returning, to try to create that chemistry and working practice together. This is a small step in that direction perhaps.”
And with the hope that Driftwork can take Big Dreams to Edinburgh Fringe, Oxford is the first step. “Premiering it in Oxford makes more sense as we all live here! Perhaps it can have more of a life when we’ve done these previews,” Ruth says.
“But our fringe dreams are to take this play forward to Edinburgh and London, which depends on all of our availability as we juggle our lives and how to fund it all, but that’s the hope! We just have to make great work when we can, with all the challenges that life throws at us.
Our fringe dreams are to take this play forward to Edinburgh and London
“So come and see Big Dreams at The Pegasus because it’s very funny and there’s a banging musical number too, so it will appeal to any age group. It’s such a fun, poignant show.”
Big Dreams, Pegasus Theatre, August 27-29. Book here https://pegasustheatre.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/shows/873688621
