The Fall

by James Fritz

'Imagine being him. Every day you wake up. You're tired. Your body doesn't work properly... You said it - you'd kill yourself.'

Two teenagers sneak into an old man's home for a secret meeting. A young couple try to build their future whilst looking after an ailing parent. A care home offers its residents the opportunity to unburden their children.

James Fritz's The Fall asks how much can a younger generation, dispossessed and disenfranchised, truly empathise with the old - especially when their future is at stake? It was premiered by the National Youth Theatre at the Finborough Theatre, London, in 2016.

The play offers ideal material for teenagers to read, study or perform.

Genres: Plays

77 pages, Paperback

First published August 11, 2016

Reviews

[Doug · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three short independent scenes, intended to be performed by a teenage cast, all surrounding the foibles of being old and infirm. As a caretaker for a 95 year old parent, these hit a bit too close to home, especially as they don't offer many cheerful alternatives. In fact, most of them revolve around how awful it is to be old and how euthanasia might be the preferred solution. :-(

[Charlie Froy]

Enjoyed reading this, it's good.

[🌶 peppersocks 🧦 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reflections and lessons learned:
“IT’S NOT HYGIENIC YOU HAVE YOUR OWN BED WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO SHARE WITH SOMEONE ELSE?”

Dark humour, juxtapositions of age and ability, and moral dilemmas dealt with in all three pieces in a wonderfully brief but exploratory way that only a play can - a good couple of twisteroos along the way too

[Jonathan Francis · Rating 5 out of 5]

HEART BREAKING

[Lizzie · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of those plays that translates less well into script format, I feel like there was a lot of potential for a good commentary on aging and euthanasia but it would have to be assisted by visuals for me.