WONDER DRUG: A Comedy about Cystic Fibrosis, which was a sell-out at VAULT Festival, will transfer to the King’s Head Theatre from 28th February to 12th March.
Charlie has cystic fibrosis, a condition that causes a build-up of mucus. Lovely. But with a new girlfriend and a ‘wonder drug’ called Kaftrio on the horizon, what can stop him now?
Writer/Performer Charlie Merriman comments: “On Sunday 6th December 2020, my life changed forever. I started Kaftrio, a game-changing new medicine for cystic fibrosis (CF). I used to cough all the time and perform chest physiotherapy twice daily. But now on Kaftrio, I barely cough at all and I do much less physio. I remember thinking ‘So this is what breathing is supposed to feel like.’
However, of the 11,000 people in the UK with CF and 100,000 globally, 10 – 20% cannot have this life-saving drug: their genetic mutation is not compatible. The work continues to make sure that absolutely everyone with CF can have a new lease of life – recent figures suggest that half will not live past their 47th birthday, possibly including those on Kaftrio.
WONDER DRUG: A Comedy about Cystic Fibrosis raises awareness of all these issues and many more.
“It focuses on a course of intravenous antibiotics I had for E. coli in June 2020, having to learn how to administer them myself at home as I was also shielding from COVID-19, a virus that people with CF are especially vulnerable to. Lockdown was a particularly difficult time for those of us with CF, leading to another key theme of the show: the relationship between physical and mental health”
“But there are laughs aplenty as I roll with the highs and lows of CF: my medicines come to life, high-profile visitors drop in, the audience gets involved in game-show sequences – and all the while, 80s bangers keep on coming…”
WONDER DRUG: A Comedy about Cystic Fibrosis aims to bring the condition to mainstream awareness and shine a light on what medical research can achieve. Above all, the show illustrates that people are people first and foremost; any other labels such as ‘disabled’ are secondary.”
More details and tickets can be found here
People with cystic fibrosis are advised not to attend in person due to the risk of crossinfection, the show will be streamed for anyone who might not want/be able to visit the theatre, details will be announced via the above link.
