Written and performed by Leicester based comic, poet and psychiatric nurse Rob Gee, Forget Me Not will tour the U.K. from March – September and visits Unity Theatre on Thursday 9th June. The tour follows a recent sold-out run across Canada, where it was a critical smash and won several awards.
Rob spent eleven years working as a registered psychiatric nurse around the U.K. and Australia before becoming a writer and performer. He’s worked with Harold Pinter, Sue Townsend, Jo Brand and Sarah Millican, and clocked up over 3,000 shows around the world.
Rob based Forget Me Not on his experiences as a nurse on a “challenging behaviour” ward for people with late stage dementia. He said: “It was the last ward to close in this old institution. I always thought it would be a great setting for a murder mystery. I eventually left under a bit of a cloud after reporting some of what I saw. A lot has changed for the better since then, but vulnerable people will always be at risk; and those with the worst memories can sometimes be the most forgotten about.”
At the heart of Forget Me Not is a detective whose tool of the trade – his mind – is failing him, making the most important case of his life a challenge to solve. By turns hilarious and thought provoking, this is a one-man comedy poetry theatre show with a lot to say about how we treat and perceive people with dementia. So impressed by his show was Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust and it has recruited Rob to work with dementia care providers on areas such as compassion and whistleblowing.
Jim’s wife, a patient on a dementia ward, has died from what appears to be natural causes. Jim is a retired police detective and he smells a rat. He’s determined to solve one last murder. The problem is he also has dementia. It is a case worthy of the greatest detective mind. But his will have to do.
Forget Me Not is at Unity Theatre on Thursday 9th June at 8pm. Tickets can be booked via Unity Theatre’s Box Office on 0151 709 4988 or by visiting www.unitytheatreliverpool.co.uk. Tickets are priced at £12 with concessions available at £10.
To accompany the tour, Forget Me Not will be available to buy as a book.