IN March 2020 an Irishman living in Lewisham wrote a blog about his personal battle with a familiar foe, namely the Grim Reaper.
Little did Barra Fitzgibbon know that his blog, five years later, was to become a play and receive its West End debut in London this coming April.
An often funny tale of survival and a love letter to the NHS, Patient:Soldier uncovers the true story of one man’s will to live and how the power of positive communication can help to fight and deal with trauma.
A humorous and macabre journey, a warts-and-all reveal of a war zone in a London ICU unfolds.
The story is told against the backdrop of an NHS buckling though one of the most tumultuous times in its history.
Narrated by the Grim Reaper herself, witness Barra’s fight where personal relationships are psychological and conversations both tragic and hilarious take place, often in a pub over a pint.
Katherine White in Patient:Soldier (Pic: Stuart Keegan)Barra knew he had a good story but also knew his limitations. He wasn’t a playwright.
Katherine White is a playwright and a remarkable one too.
Barra and Katherine were friends and having read the blog Katherine agreed to give it a whirl, and spent a year structuring a one-person play (with one actor playing multiple characters).
Over time both Katherine and Barra landed on a piece of writing they thought might just work.
Now the question was how to get it performed somewhere?
They pitched it to the Bloomsbury Festival 2024 and it was accepted.
A one-person play is budget friendly but it still needs an actor and a director and the budget was zero.
Luckily Katherine could also act and Barra thought he could give this directing malarkey a crack.
Patient:Soldier moves to the West End this month (Pic: Stuart Keegan)Katherine’s first ever performance in a one person play? Barra's first ever attempt at directing a play? What could possibly go wrong?
It performed last October to a sell-out crowd and the reviews were universally positive
As luck would have it, there was a producer in the audience that night who liked what he saw and now, with a very real director and production team behind it, Patient: Soldier moves into London’s West End.
Four performances are taking place from April 25 to the 27 at the Seven Dials Playhouse in Covent Garden.
Still a one-person play, and Katherine continues to perform, but on alternate nights a male actor will take over the performance, Michael Mahony of Once and Commitments fame.
What both genders will bring to the piece is what fascinates Barra.
“I can’t wait. It’s exciting and terrifying at the same time," he said.
"I know the writing is good and that’s the foundation, solid.
"A proper director with new ideas is now on board and that’s a game changer," he adds.
"It’s a brilliant night out, completely immersive.
"Seven Dials Playhouse is a small venue so it’s very intimate.
"You’ll laugh, you’ll cry and maybe go home a little more grateful for what you’ve got, and that’s got to be a good thing right?”
Patient:Soldier runs at the Seven Dials Playhouse from Apr 25-27, 2025.
(This is a one-person performance and will be played on Friday and Saturday matinee by Katherine White and on Saturday evening and Sunday by Michael Mahoney)
