“ A Day In The Death Of Joe Egg” by Peter Nichols

Nottingham Lace Market Theatre.

The play centres on a couple, Bri and Sheila, who are struggling to save their marriage whilst trying to raise their only child, a small girl named Josephine, who suffers with cerebral palsy. She uses a wheelchair and is unable to communicate. Caring for her has occupied nearly every moment of her parents' lives since her birth, taking a heavy toll on their marriage. Sheila gives Josephine as much of a life as she can, while Bri wants the child institutionalised and has begun to entertain chilling fantasies of killing himself and Josephine. I'm going to try and not say much more about the plot as I would hate to spoil the ending for you.

It sounds a barrel of laughs at first sight doesn’t it? Well it is a black comedy that was made into a film in 1972 starring Alan Bates and Janet Suzman and then again in 2002 with Eddie Izzard and Victoria Hamilton. I watched about ten minutes of the film and then thought, "No!" I wanted to get my first reactions to this story from seeing the play tonight, I wanted no spoilers or surprises, and I was so pleased I chose that option.

Some of the language, which would have been the norm when the play was written in 1967, caused some intakes of breath tonight, especially in the descriptions of Josephine's condition. I will admit I found that part of it uncomfortable, but it is supposed to make you feel that way, so in that case, it did it's job.

We get to see the everyday life of bringing up a child with cerebral palsy, and the way that Bri uses humour to mask what his true feelings are. The humour being his coping mechanism. We see a longing to be closer to Sheila, and possibly revert to a life before Joe came along.

James Pacey (Bri) could well have a side line as a stand-up comedian after seeing him play Bri, school teacher and husband. The play features all of the characters breaking the fourth wall to address the audience to give their side and opinions, and the way James worked the auditorium was quite impressive. He will divide the audience with his actions, and again this is good for a play to cause this reaction.

Sarah Taylor (Sheila) depicts the other side of the tracks, so to speak, as she is 100% committed to Joe and the life that she has with her child. Again wearing a virtual mask to hide from the outside world of Sheila's drama society what she has to go through on a daily basis. But that mask slips! A tender depiction of what must not be an easy role to get into. You feel like giving Sheila, via Sarah a hug for her unwavering dedication to her daughter.

Jonathan Cleaver (Freddie) plays Sheila's drama buddy who drops Sheila off in Act Two. Freddie wants to help but he also wants to put Bri right about a couple of things.

Juliet Brain (Pam) is Freddie's wife, who feels very uncomfortable being around a child like Josephine, quite the opposite of Freddie. Pam does not want to stay any longer than she needs to because of these feelings she has. Pam shows the prejudices that existed back in the 1960's surrounding the issues highlighted in the play.

Hazel Salisbury (Grace) is Bri's Mum, and again typical of the older attitudes, not only towards Joe but towards her son and her daughter in law. A daughter in law we get the feeling was not, and possibly never will be good enough for her boy! A lovely character driven role for Hazel and I loved Grace's monologue.

Michaela Megran Handley (Josephine) could well have had one of the most difficult roles for an actor, as everything that the character wanted to express were through noises, for the majority of the play, as well as physical actions.

The play is wordy, but clever, and I imagine that when this run is over, all the actors will be drained physically, and possibly mentally.

Directed by Bob Wildgust I imagine this was possibly not the easiest of plays to direct, but possibly one of the most challenging but satisfying, seeing the results of the hard work put in all involved.

Set Design by Keith Parkinson, and you really got the feel of the late 1960's here. from the furniture to the wall hangings to the props within the set, everything worked to pinpoint accurately the time that the play was written in.

Sound and light by Simon Carter. Now it may seem that the only changes in the lighting was when it was faded up and down, but listen out for the background sound design in this play.

To sum up, the play is designed to not only highlight what life is like with a child with cerebral palsy. the stress and strain of looking after their daughter and keeping a marriage together, but it shows how cracks can develop. It can be an uncomfortable watch, seasoned with stabs of comedy, but again that is the aim, and the final section of this play will make you go away talking about what you have just seen, and is a great debating rostrum.

I always say that a play has not succeeded in it's aim if you go away not feeling anything, or throw up talking points. This play definitely succeeds in that aim.

“A Day In the Death Of Joe Egg” is at the Nottingham Lace Market theatre until Saturday 23 October.