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EXIT

by David Calcutt

​​"We have to go in closer. Get right inside his head. See what he’s thinking. Let us see into his heart. Let us look into his soul…"

"X" knows he is in hospital for treatment. They say they will help to take his pain away. But he doesn’t remember how he got here. Or where he was before. Should he even be here at all…?

Exit is a new play on the theme of male suicide. It has been written by David Calcutt, who observes:

“For anyone who loses a family member through suicide, the biggest question is always: ‘Why?’ The play is simply my attempt to get inside the mind of a man who has been diagnosed as a suicide risk, as he tries understand what is happening to him.”

The central character is an "Everyman" figure. He finds himself alone, in a bare room. He knows he has to face his own demons. He tells a series of stories. Are they dreams, or memories of actual events? Even he doesn't know for sure...

I know they’re watching me. I can tell. They’ve got me under observation. Or maybe investigation. What for? What have I done? I don’t know. They just put me in here. They didn’t tell me anything. If they did tell me something I don’t remember. I’ve got no real memory of anything. Just bits and pieces. Nothing that fits together.  Nothing that make any sense.  I don’t know how long I’ve been here. It feels like a long time. Hours. Weeks. Years. There’s no clock. And me just sitting here with all that time passing. Waiting. ...  Waiting for what?

Exit is designed for a general audience, as well as health service users, bereaved families, health professionals, etc. Organisations might use the play as a starting point for discussion - to raise a subject that people often find difficult to talk about. It may also be used in staff training, etc. The MAT production is funded by Awards for All. For further details. contact David on 07946 006511 / 0121 608 7144

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