Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

There is a reason why the foundation of the country since the end of the Second World War is built upon the cornerstone, the epitome of decency that is the N.H.S. and it is down to doctors and nurses that put up with, laugh alongside, shed tears of agony, frustration and remorse in the midst of insurmountable daily pressure from the sick and the dying and from those trusted with its care who seem to want to destroy what makes the U.K. civilised.

Written and directed by Sam Freeman and starring the accomplished Susannah Freeman, Floating takes a look at one woman’s dedication, trials and tribulations and ultimately joy in her chosen calling working in a hospital as a nurse. This one hour play does more for the concerns of the future of the caring profession than any party political broadcast do, any sweeping statements made by those that want to take in a different direction and worse the thought of going like the United States and paying for the privilege of being ill.

In equal measure, Mr. Freeman’s intensely accurate script for Floating and the delightful, heart-breaking and persuasively convincing nature of Susannah Freeman acting took the audience beyond the realms of what was comfortable and instead gave a first rate impression of what a nurse’s life is, dealing with those who are dying but uncomplaining, a cheerful smile for the hard working and under stress nurse and those who make nurses lives intolerable just by breathing. Susannah Freeman oozed generosity of spirit, the fight that she kept even when she related the story of the woman who complained about her attitude just because she was given tap water or the mental anguish when she learned that an old man who always spoke to her with kindness had passed on during the night.

It is productions such as these that remind people that what we have a nation is worth holding onto and protecting at all costs, no fancy words from those in charge can make the agony of being ill any better but left in the right hands we will not all feel as though we are floating down a river we cannot return from.

Ian D. Hall