Heartsink

Riverside Studios - Interview with writer Farine Clarke

There is nothing better than a theatre production that provokes thought and ignites meaningful conversation. This is exactly what 'Heartsink', written by Farine Clarke, is going to be. Make sure to get yourself to Riverside Studios from April 21st to May 10th to see this one. This show comes from a special place; it's all about a doctor who goes from healthcare provider to receiver. The tables are turned. It explores what it feels like to switch and the thoughts and feelings that come up. It covers relevant topics about the healthcare system from a lived experience. It's done in a light-hearted way with a bit of comedy. This is going to be an exciting show!

I won't go further into what it's about, because Farine Clarke had a brilliant conversation with us all about the show, the writing process and her personal experience. This is a show that you will not want to miss out on, and seeing it may even open your eyes to a different perspective. Isn't it amazing when theatre does this!

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Let's get into what Farine Clarke shared:

Q: Tell us a bit about 'Heartsink'?

A: Heartsink is a bittersweet medical comedy with emphasis on comedy, even though it raises some serious issues. It's about a doctor who becomes a patient. It presents this idea that you change from quite a high status, very in control, knowledgeable, into a vulnerable position. You have the label of doctor; you are the patient. The character loses their status, and you still have the knowledge, but the power has gone, and the knowledge rests with the people who are treating you.

Although that sounds quite tragic, it's also funny, because you start to look at things that you thought were givens. Particularly, medicine or the medical system, and all the things around that. Suddenly, you see them from the patient's point of view. Before, they were straightforward. For example, in patient labelling, we call patients an asthmatic, a diabetic, or a cancer patient. Suddenly, from the patient's point of view, the condition becomes who they are. While that may not matter to some people, to other people it does, and it's a sort of way of stripping people of their identity.

At the same time, the medical field is very anti-people developing illness behaviour. It's good for people not to fight their illness, but to maximise what they can do when they are ill. The system emphasises the illness, and when you book an appointment in an NHS hospital you NEED your hospital number. You can give various details, but if you haven't got your hospital number, you cannot. So, these are subtle little things. But they do strip people of their individuality, and they make them lean more towards being patient, and less towards being a person. The play highlights that, because it's happening to the doctor, you get two sides happening in one person. You don't have to be pro or anti, but you just allow the audience to see what it's like to be on the other side, what it's like to be on the medical side, and then what it's like to be on the patient's side, but it all happens in one person. Which I think is what makes it quite interesting.

Q: During your time as a GP, have you had to treat a patient who is a healthcare professional?

A: Yes, at one level, it engenders fear. The patient has a level of knowledge and yet, you still have to do your job and deliver healthcare to them as if they were any other patient. But just by the fact that you've asked that question proves that it's not equal. In my situation, when I got very ill, I actually ended up having a transplant. By the time you're in that position, you lose that equality. You are being treated by people who are experts in specialities and have procedures that are different to your own. You have to make a conscious decision to relinquish your knowledge because your own knowledge is probably limited in comparison. In my situation, I didn't know what the latest treatments were for people who've had transplants and what the recent recommended regimes were. But the experts you are being treated by do.

When you're a patient being treated in a more routine setting, I've also noticed that with me as a doctor in a patient setting, it doesn't take me very long to mention that I used to be a GP. So, I must be doing something subconsciously, or even consciously, trying to get the other healthcare professional to treat me a bit differently. I

Q: How has creating the show benefited you? 

A: Working with a team to create a play is life -enhancing. Writing is a thoroughly enjoyable but solo activity. Putting the energy into a production working with a director, set, sound, lighting designers and stage and production managers before even starting rehearsals with the cast & promotion with PR and marketing, is great for me because I love working in teams.  I hate being bored or sitting at home, so creating a play with other people makes me feel alive and grateful to everyone who helps me to do it.     When the audience enjoys the play, I feel proud of everyone. That’s guaranteed to positively detract from any illness or hospital appointments.  

Q: What do you want healthcare professionals to take away from seeing the show?

A: ⁠⁠I want them to feel they’ve enjoyed a high-quality, honest production. Which doesn’t judge any one party and instead presents the collision of two worlds: that of the medical professional and the patient,  in one individual.   The healthcare professionals who watched the preview reading really enjoyed it because they recognised the truth, and it freed them to discuss the issues raised without feeling threatened.  I want them to have fun watching it- they’ll empathise with the characters but still be surprised by them!?

Q: Describe the show in one sentence?

A: After years in practice, seeing through a doctor’s eyes, I now find myself on a crash course as the patient; the view isn’t quite so attractive from this side, you’d be surprised to hear.

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If you find this show as intriguing as I do and you're looking forward to seeing what it's all about CLICK HERE to book your tickets.