Most of us have parents, and parents tend to grown old sooner or later. If they become ill or senile, who should take up the burden of care?
Lantern Theatre Liverpool tackle the increasingly relevant issue of parental care in Catherine Hayes’ play Skirmishes in the theatre’s first in house production. Running from the 21st to 25th January the play brings to light the issue of caring for a parent as they age and the strain that such care can have on a family.
Tension caused between siblings is not un-common; studies have shown that families are often divided by arguments caused by parental care. A changing age structure of families means the likelihood is at 55 you will have a surviving parent. This means that generations of middle-aged people, planning their own older years, now also have to think about their parents.
The dark comedy is set at the bedside of bickering sibling characters Rita and Jeans mother. The three-woman cast includes Joan Oakley playing the mother, Carmel Howard playing Rita and Margaret Connell playing Jean. Drawing on often-dark humour, the sisters wrestle with the burden of responsibility, turning a potentially morbid subject in to a humane and moving account.
Tickets prices start at £8 and can be booked online at lanterntheatreliverpool.co.uk or by calling box office on 01517030000.