There is a veil of death hanging over the theatres around The Cut in London.
Care at the Young Vic is set in a nursing home and about the end of life, and a few minutes’ walk away at The Glitch is Before I’m Dead, a play about a terminally ill teen.
But the two couldn’t be more different productions.
Zara (Myla Carmen) is 17 and likely won’t make 18 because of a brain tumour. She is assigned a therapist, Stuart (Pete Ashmore), through a Make-A-Wish-style charity.
Her wish is to broadcast her own eulogy on the radio, but it is not as easy as it sounds. There are broadcast rules and parental permissions to gain, which Stuart, reluctantly at first, helps her navigate.
While Care has the slow pace of its care home residents, Before I’m Dead, while still considered, has an energy that is part youthful verve, part desperation.
It makes the bad days Zara encounters all the more stark. Light and sound treatments indicate the flashes of pain she suffers.
Hand puppets, wigs and a guitar all come into play as the story weaves together the people and key events of Zara’s life to date that have shaped her present relationships.
Angry at the world and her situation and initially resentful of Stuart, who typically works with younger children, the patient and therapist go on a journey of discovery together.
There was an ease and fluency to Myla Carmen and Pete Ashmore’s performances, which made this a compelling watch.
Not all the flashbacks to past events have the same punch. While fun to watch the actors playing different genders and ages, some clarity in the narrative is lost.
Final thoughts
Before I’m Dead is, ironically, given its subject matter, a play full of life. It has bursts of colour and spirit that contrast keenly with darker, quieter moments, and that adds to its poignancy.
It isn’t without its flaws, but it had me smiling and tearing up, and I’m giving it four stars.
Before I’m Dead, The Glitch
Written by James Rushbrooke
Directed by Oli Savage
Cast: Myla Carmen and Pete Ashmore
Running time: 70 minutes
Booking until 21 June, 2026; for more information and to buy tickets, visit The Glitch website.
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