Unforgettable at the House of Commons
We are honoured to be bringing our play Unforgettable: Telling the Care Home Story to the House of Commons on Tuesday 13 June.
Hosted by Fabian Hamilton MP, the performance will be shared with invited guests. Following the play in Parliament there will be a panel discussion featuring Baroness Elizabeth Barker and others.
Inspired by Brian Daniels’s conversations with care staff, residents and their families, Unforgettable tells the deeply moving story of a residential care home during the pandemic.
Commissioned by Leeds Care Association and written by Pluto Play Productions founder Brian Daniels, Unforgettable is a new play which puts the experiences of staff and care home residents during the Covid-19 pandemic centre stage. The performance was first shared for care home staff in Leeds.
Brian Daniels said: “It is a privilege to have been invited to perform the play Unforgettable: Telling the Care Home Story at the House of Commons on Tuesday 13 June. Fabian Hamilton MP for Leeds North East has attended several of my plays and hosted post-show discussions on a number of occasions, and when he heard about the relationship between Pluto Play Productions and Leeds Care Association he immediately suggested a performance in Parliament to create a platform for other MPs and those engaged in the care industry to experience at first hand the story of Covid and the Care Homes.
Throughout researching material for this play I interviewed numerous care home staff, carers, residents, management members and volunteer carers. It was quickly apparent that many were experiencing post-traumatic stress in the light of one bereavement after another - one care home manager told me that ‘they are not residents, they are our friends, our family and we mourn them in that way’. Our staff were the only people present at the end of these lives, their own families and friends were excluded; the burden was all on our shoulders’.
I hope that the play creates a scenario where we understand the loyalty and commitment expected and given by the care home community, we also explore in the play one older woman’s dilemma of facing her own move into a care home and her anxieties and misgivings.”
Fabian Hamilton MP said: “The care of our elderly and vulnerable is a social issue that’s hardly discussed by the media and society, but it’s a vital subject which policy makers and politicians need to address urgently. Brian’s play brings many issues regarding care homes into sharp focus, as he always does with his brilliant and professional writing skill. I recommend this play to anyone who cares about the treatment of our older citizens and the future of a civilised society in this country.”
If you want to discuss bringing a production of Unforgettable to your workplace or community setting, please get in touch.