A shy girl in pink checked pyjamas and ankle socks clutches a model pink brain and talks to the queuing audience about how she is training to be a neurosurgeon. Leading us into the venue space a makeshift bed lies unmade center stage. From here Riley begins her first calm and unpretentious monologue. She’s studying for her dream career as a neurosurgeon and she lectures with casual confidence on how exactly the brain functions. She’s years away from completion but the cracks of her education are beginning to show. The workload is intense and she’s falling asleep in class. Adulting at 20 is hard work for Riley. She’s alone and struggling but her reasons are different. Phone calls with her friends just don’t cut it but she needs to face a reality; something is physically wrong with her and she has no idea what. A visit to the Doctor nearly breaks her. She’s patronized and dismissed. Apparently, plenty of sleep and exercise is the cure but self-diagnosis suggests otherwise.
In her dreams Riley hallucinates. The soft notes of a music box play. Red lights indicate a mood shift and her nightmare unfolds under the sheets. As the show progresses her terrors intensify. The dismissal by the doctor has triggered her psyche in horrible ways. He inhabits her mind as a black figure haunting her. The simple stagecraft contrasts the action and opens up the play. A greater purpose forms in Riley and the story takes broader shape.
Waking from the dreams, normal life takes a more complicated turn. Lucid dreaming is destroying her ability to focus. Inner turmoil rampages and her night time routine becomes punishing as the man in black now floats her like a doll around the stage. Silent screams and sleep paralysis take their toll on Riley but a second medical appointment is transformative. The new doctor actually listens to Riley. He offers a wholly different approach. Imbued with confidence a proper neurological appointment is scheduled but the first battle is lost and her worsening condition forces her to drop out of medical school.
The resolve is poignant. Invisible illness is a topic not always covered in Fringe theatre and this show comes at the topic from an angle of utter truth. The hospital diagnose Narcolepsy and introduce her to the coping mechanisms she will have to adopt to lead the life she wants. By device, the play constantly alludes but the reality that makes this a soul searched piece of original theatre is fact. The story is embellished from writer/actor Kerri Chester’s actual life experience in the past two years. The artificial framework is necessary for the play to work but this isn’t a medical condition that gets much coverage in theatre. Chester’s frank admissions to the audience through her invention of Riley give this play scope, originality and humanity. Defining her reality through theatre epitomises the purpose of art whilst also offering her a necessary protection; she doesn’t have to tell us everything and that amplifies a personal catharsis.
Ultimately, the acting is naturalistic, accessible and subtle. The usual weaker elements of student theatre are still present. Subtle refinements will solidify the execution of this piece but that doesn’t detract from the sincerity on offer. Writing about yourself can be easy but writing a play that is honest about a scenario that affects your daily life that you are still learning to deal with is a process not everyone will be prepared to undertake. Chester does this with conviction and this is the consideration that elevates the play.
Reviewer: Al Carretta
Reviewed: 22nd August 2025
North West End UK Rating: