Silva Lining‘s Care Plan

With Melissa Johns (Karen), Marlene Sidaway (Silva), Shaparak Khorsandi (Brain), and Cyril Nri (Mark).

What's it like playing Brain? Why is the play important? Was it fun to be in? Silva Lining's Care Play Writer and Director Elspeth Penny chatted to the  actors behind the scenes.

Interviews transcribed and ordered by Nick Sutton

Edited by Iain Hunter

Music by Sarah Moody

Thanks to Lois Barton

Directed and Produced by Elspeth Penny

A 2BU Productions work

The whole play:  Silva, an elderly retired surgeon (Marlene Sidaway) cuts herself for secret reasons, Brain (Shappi Khorsandi) develops in a Petri dish and Karen (Melissa Johns) has to made some tricky decisions about what caring for someone actually is.

Silva has had a fall and is deteriorating. She wants the truth from Karen. Karen sees Brain though and has hope – what if Brain is actually the genuine authentic Silva? Brain thinks he’s ‘just a bit more attractive actually’. Brain is all for ‘Stand aside oldies’, and imitates Mark being sexy with Lisa. Who should be Karen’s priority to look after now?

Karen, the ‘perfect’ carer, is not feeling so compliant, and shows the camera in Silva’s house her arse. Brain is developing and is now repeating words, but no one but us can hear them. Karen and Silva learn more about each other, and Brain manages a massive fart.

Silva, a senior retired surgeon has been cutting herself. She warns herself to be careful with incision instruments. What is she growing in the petri-dish? It’s something secret. Something she is attending to always. The stakes are high for Silva to find the right carer, who she can trust to take this invention on when she gets too far down the dementia path. Will her new carer Karen be 'the one?'