A message from the artist...

The Things That Might Become tells the story of the Aldridge family and of a father, David, who has been diagnosed with a rare, malignant brain tumour. The story explores what happens as the growing tumour creates increasing pressure on David’s speech centre, causing his speech to become increasingly confused until eventually he runs out of words entirely. Early on in his diagnosis, David is given a referral to dance classes for ‘people with acquired brain trauma’. He has never danced before and can barely hold a rhythm, but to everyone’s surprise, decides to attend. 

 

In the last year of his life, as he loses his ability to speak, David begins to dance.

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This story is based on my own father’s diagnosis of Glioblastoma Multiforme in 2015 and the last year of his life, during which he attended dance lessons for the first time.

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This is an initial sharing of a play in its early stages. 

In fact, this is an early draft of Act One. 

In further fact, I am not sure how many acts this play has.

And I’m not sure whether to call it a play. It might also be a mix-tape...

 

This presentation will be somewhere between a reading, some experiments in staging, and a conversation about my research and process so far. 

 

The piece is an exploration of the spaces in which language and movement meet, the ways in which we express ourselves, and the role of silence in understanding and not understanding. It is also about how a family learns to witness one another, to grieve and cope. A story which asks what might be possible at the end of life- what if even the most end of endings is also a beginning?

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