Real life stories from health workers explored

Actor Kimberley Hart-Simpson

Real-life stories of healthcare workers are explored in Dare to Know Theatre’s digital verbatim play A Broken Family, Together.

The play was created with support from Oldham Coliseum Theatre as one of the Coliseum’s Micro Commissions 2021.

A Broken Family, Together is the culmination of words said by healthcare professionals working at The Royal Oldham Hospital looking back over the coronavirus pandemic.

With the help of Wendy Clapham, Assistant Director of Nursing Services for Critical Care at the hospital – who received a BEM for Services to Nursing in the Queen’s New Year Honours list, Dare to Know interviewed the team at the hospital with a view to celebrate and document the dedication and heroism that nurses, doctors, porters, managers, volunteers and more have shown throughout the crisis.

Written by Jake Talbot and directed by Miranda Parker, the interviews are presented as the stories of three nurses, performed by actors Julie Edwards, Sam Power and Kimberley Hart-Simpson.

Jake said: “This is a story of how real people become heroes; but recognising that all heroes need their time to process, reflect and heal.

"We feel that this project can capture this moment in history. We hope it will echo the feelings inside hospitals around the country.”

Dare to Know Theatre are an emerging theatre company from Oldham with a commitment to creating new and thought-provoking work.

Writer and performer Jake Talbot and dramaturg Miranda Parker formed the company in early 2020, with a rough but productive first year of action, following postponements and cancellations of their debut play, Drowning, which will play on the Coliseum stage in July.

A Broken Family, Together is available to view for free on the Coliseum’s website and YouTube channel. 

Exploring themes of health and wellbeing, local stories or work for and with young people from Oldham, the Coliseum’s Micro Commissions 2021 respond to the world as we live in it today, over a year on from the beginning of the pandemic.

All Oldham Coliseum Micro Commissions 2021 are free to access.

However, the theatre asks that audiences consider making a donation to help them support more great artists to create new work.

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