Keron Day's new play, You and Me (and Whoever Comes Next), at Summerhall, Edinburgh, draws on his experiences with live-in carers to deliver a pithy account of a complex relationship. The show, written by Day, Helen Chong, and director Alex Howarth, runs until 29 August and shares the emotional veracity, easy humour, and social purpose of Patch of Blue's previous production, Cassie and the Lights.
A Personal Story of Care and Boundaries
Day, a disabled actor, stars as himself, playing a 22-year-old who meets PA Dani (Lauren Koster) in a sweary meet-cute. The friendship between the two, rather than romance, muddies the water. The play dives into the complexities of defining personal and professional boundaries, as Keron relies on Dani for cleaning and dressing, while she relies on him as her employer.
Keron's whistle-stop tour of past PAs, played by Martha Walker, shows they can be the needy ones or cruelly aloof. The nature of the work is immediately intimate – his PA, says Keron, is the person he sees at the start and end of each day. Two extremes are posited: the PA as confidant or, after Keron and Dani fall out, as “the robot that takes you to the toilet”.
Fragility and Universality
As the title makes clear, the set-up is fragile, the future uncertain, with government cuts hovering over both their lives. The script combines the specificity of this situation – and the pity and ridicule Keron faces not just from strangers but also friends – with a striking universality for other relationships.
Joined by Merle Powell-Smith, who plays her own soothing and plangent folk compositions on stage, the overall effect is not so much of an ensemble as a community. The piece ends with Keron's commitment to protect others in his position – and the hour itself is handled with utmost care.
