When The End Is Really The Beginning
Chris Naylor on his first play, See Me For Myself, being premiered at The Tabard Theatre
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Chiswick resident, Christopher (Chris) Naylor is a retired consultant gynaecologist who has at the age of 84, penned his first play, (co-authored with Joanna Way) which will be soon be performed at The Tabard Theatre.
See Me For Myself is a love story between two dying teenagers and is set in a hospice, but despite the seriousness of the subject, Chris says it also contains many elements of humour and indeed magic.
Chris has lived in Chiswick for 42 years, in Grove Park close to the river, and although this is his first play and will receive its premiere at The Tabard Theatre, he has previously written poetry and a blog, and he and wife Vicki have run a writer's group at their home for several years.
See Me For Myself was inspired by a talk he attended some years ago at the Royal Society of Medicine where a young female doctor talked about her experience running a hospice for children.
The plot centres around teenagers Sally (Alice Cox) and Stephen (Nickolia King-N'Da) who tragically find themselves meeting each other for the first time in a hospice. Determined not to allow the time constraints of their illnesses to quell their youthfulness, they still have the will to love, laugh and be happy.
When Sally makes a wish under a new moon, she digs deep to find fulfilment that has been denied to her in her short and tragic life, while ‘bad boy’ Stephen discovers a capacity for tenderness and a way to belong. Caring for the physical and emotional needs of her two young patients is Sister Jones, but does she go too far and breach medical ethics?
The play is described as "a touching yet uplifting tale of two teenagers trying to make sense of the world and the time they have left." It poses several questions about young love, sex, disability, and how far state and family should interfere in a child’s wishes.
Chris Naylor has worked with young people through his involvement with the Brook Advisory Centre for many years, and has experience in dealing with issues of sexuality and disability.
"My original play was set in a children's hospice with fourteen characters. I thought it would be a good end-of -year play for a school but as we are using a smaller theatre than I had written for, I had to adapt and we have adjusted the cast to six characters."
Chris sent off his original play to a number of outlets and was contacted by Theatre Clywd from Wales, who praised the play for its humanity and were anxious to become involved. They suggested some adjustments and co-author, journalist Joanna Way became involved. Joanna is 73, and Chris is 84, so they both had a lot of life experience to bring to the writing. They had long discussions together to shape the play into its current format.
The two characters Sally and Stephen, aged 16 and 17 are dying but they fall in love and want to have sex. They want the hospital to help them by allowing them achieve this experience, as the play suggests, it is a question of ' the end being the beginning'......
Running parallel to this is the family reaction, particularly Sally's father, who is angry at his daughter not only for falling in love in the hospice, but for the upset caused by a former boyfriend posting 'revenge porn' of his daughter on social media.
A keen supporter of local theatre, Chris sought advice from Simon Reilly at the Tabard Theatre who arranged a rehearsed reading , which took place last July. The play is directed by David Phipps-Davis whose previous work at the Tabard includes Ruddigore, and An Ideal Husband.
One of the issues close to Chris Naylor's heart is the need to raise awareness of the lack of hospices catering to teenagers. Teenagers with terminal illnesses are too old for children's hospices but most adult hospices cater for people in their 70s. To this end, donations towards the Teenage Cancer Trust can also be made after the performance.
Both he and co-author Joanna Way feel that See Me For Myself will find resonance with young people and adults alike and is an ideal play to be performed in schools as it raises so many issues.
Chris has now started writing his next play but is keeping the subject matter close to his chest.
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October 8, 2018
