New play gives voice to Covid bereaved
How something positive emerged from real-life grief
Rehearsals are under way for a play that promises to touch audiences at Newcastle’s Alphabetti Theatre quite deeply.
It was inspired by real-life experiences of bereavement during the Covid-19 pandemic when most of us were confined to our homes for long periods.
Called Grounded, it tells the story of Katherine whose husband dies unexpectedly right at the start of the pandemic.
She is faced with nothing but four walls to share her grief and, in due course, the house starts to take on a life of its own, challenging everything she thought was true.
The play was written by Dr Ruth Raynor, a Newcastle University academic, and artist-educator Karen Underhill whose own experiences fed into the character of Katherine.
It also draws on in-depth research done with a group of women who were bereaved during that time, shining a light on the hidden costs of the restrictions people had to live by.
Grounded was supported with funding from the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Impact Acceleration Account at Newcastle University.
Dr Raynor, a senior lecturer in urban planning in the university’s school of architecture, planning and landscape, is also co-founder of Albatross, a contemporary new writing theatre collective based in the North East.
She said: “Many millions of people were affected by bereavement during Covid-19 and restrictions had a real impact on the grieving process.
“While the world has sought to quickly ‘move on’ from this time, our research participants cannot. They want to share their experiences from this unique moment in time, to feel heard, seen and acknowledged.”
Karen’s husband, Simon, died at the start of the pandemic so she had to navigate her grief and support her children during lockdown.
“This play has allowed me to take ownership of my story,” she said.
“It has given me a creative way to process what I felt was unprocessable.
“To have my voice, and the voices of others like me, heard in this way feels vital.”
Edward Cole, Alphabetti Theatre’s artistic director, said: “We are incredibly excited to be working with Albatross and proud to be able to share this beautiful new play.
“Grounded acts as a cornerstone to our spring season and tells a story that will unite audiences in joy, warmth and a shared understanding of something we all went through, but many have yet to fully process.
“We're incredibly thankful to Newcastle University, UKRI and ESRC for allowing us to go on this journey, and we believe the play will act as a beautiful example of what can be achieved when creativity and research work hand in hand.”
Grounded, with Karen Underhill performing alongside Zoe Lambert, Christina Berriman-Dawson and Wilf Stone, runs at Alphabetti Theatre, St James’ Boulevard, Newcastle, from May 21-24.
After the May 22 performance there will be a discussion with Dr Raynor, Karen Underhill and Dr Angela Kennedy, of Innovating for Wellbeing.
A creative writing workshop led by Celia North is open to anybody affected by loss on June 9 (10am to 12 noon) at the West End Library, 6 Condercum Rd, Newcastle NE4 9JH.