While much of the country is celebrating New Year’s Day, there are people whose jobs don’t simply stop because it’s a bank holiday. Someone still has to turn up, someone still has to take responsibility, and someone still has to care.
That is the world explored in Take Care by Late Shift Theatre, a Bristol-based, student-led theatre company focused on telling less-heard stories through nuanced characters and carefully navigated moments of humour and tenderness.
We follow Lilian, Richard, Cassandra, Chloe, Aidan and William as they navigate New Year’s Day working in a care home for adults with learning disabilities. While the rest of the world celebrates, they remain on shift caring for those who rely upon them.
With outings, new arrivals and the unexpected chaos that comes with working in care, the production looks beyond the job itself and towards the people doing it – their responsibilities, relationships and the reasons they continue to show up every day.
I was very excited to see this performance. I spotted Take Care when it arrived at the Edinburgh Fringe and immediately thought it had a lot of potential.
I’d also seen the cast on social media and could tell just how enthusiastic they were about their production. They were doing their utmost to get their work in front of Fringe audiences, and that enthusiasm certainly didn’t disappear once they got on stage.
The show’s characters are something of a motley crew, each with their own personality – and, it has to be said, some rather questionable wigs.
From a technical perspective, the lighting worked well and the transitions between scenes were handled effectively. The production moved between the different parts of the care home and the characters’ stories without making those changes feel overly complicated.
The acting ability across the cast was varied, with some particularly strong performances. However, what really set this production alight for me was its script.
It was very well put together, and considerable credit must go to writer Edie Doherty. There is a lot going on within Take Care, but the writing manages to introduce us to the different personalities while gradually revealing more about the realities of their work and their reasons for doing it.
There were certain moments, however, where the production became a little stagnant and my interest started to wander.
I don’t particularly like using the phrase that a production “needs to be tighter”, because it can become generic criticism without really explaining what needs changing. In this case, I think certain sections could simply have been directed differently. A change in pace, movement or delivery in those moments could have helped sustain the audience’s interest more consistently.
But what certainly wasn’t lacking was enthusiasm.
The energy in the room was fantastic, and the cast clearly put a huge amount into the performance. At this stage of the Edinburgh Fringe, when performers can understandably be starting to feel the effects of a long run, I didn’t see that fatigue here. The company attacked the production with energy and commitment.
Where Take Care particularly succeeds is in taking us behind the scenes of working in a care home. It explores not only what carers do, but why they do it and the relationships that develop between the people working within that environment. This element of the production was executed very well.
There is a lot to admire here.
For me, Take Care is worthy of 4 stars, but I could also see the potential for it to move into 5-star territory with further development. The acting would need to become more consistent across the company, while certain sections of the production could be reworked to sustain interest throughout.
Importantly, though, the foundations are already there: a very good script, an interesting subject, plenty of energy and a company that clearly believes in the work it is creating.
Take Care is a well-thought-out production, executed with enthusiasm and considerable potential. With the right development, I could easily imagine this being a production that goes beyond the Fringe and onto a wider tour.
★★★★ An exciting production with a bright future
Take Care | Edinburgh Festival Fringe
About the Author
