When You Cure Me (NHB Modern Plays)

By Jack Thorne

A painful - and painfully funny - play about being very young and in love - and coping with serious illness at the same time.
Rachel and Peter are seventeen. They have been going out for six months. It's love's young dream. Then Rachel gets ill - seriously ill. She doesn't want her mum to fuss; she doesn't want Alice to pretend she's her best friend; and she certainly doesn't want Alice's boyfriend telling bad jokes at her bedside. The only person she wants is Peter, but Peter doesn't know what it is that he wants.
When You Cure Me premiered at the Bush Theatre, London, in 2005.
'In one of the year's finest pieces of new writing... a compassionate, gripping portrait of a fledgling relationship that is asked to bear more than many well-established marriages' Evening Standard
'painstakingly honest... acutely observant of the petty rivalries and jealousies that sickness provokes' Guardian
'[has] a merciless precision... a brave piece of writing that, with its damaged and angry heroine, unflinchingly shows us not a vision of saintly suffering, but a far more engagingly human struggle for survival' The Times

• Language: English
• Publisher: Nick Hern Books
• Release date: Aug 21, 2014
• ISBN: 9781780012421

Jack Thorne

Jack Thorne is a playwright and BAFTA-winning screenwriter. His plays for the stage include: When Winston Went to War with the Wireless (Donmar Warehouse, 2023); The Motive and the Cue (National Theatre and West End, 2023); After Life, an adaptation of a film by Hirokazu Kore-eda (National Theatre, 2021); the end of history... (Royal Court, London, 2019); an adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol (Old Vic, London, 2017); an adaptation of Büchner's Woyzeck (Old Vic, London, 2017); Junkyard (Headlong, Bristol Old Vic, Rose Theatre Kingston and Theatr Clwyd, 2017); Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Palace Theatre, London, 2016); The Solid Life of Sugar Water (Graeae and Theatre Royal Plymouth, 2015); Hope (Royal Court, London, 2015); adaptations of Let the Right One In (National Theatre of Scotland at Dundee Rep, the Royal Court and the Apollo Theatre, London, 2013/14) and Stuart: A Life Backwards (Underbelly, Edinburgh and tour, 2013); Mydidae (Soho, 2012; Trafalgar Studios, 2013); an adaptation of Friedrich Dürrenmatt's The Physicists (Donmar Warehouse, 2012); Bunny (Underbelly, Edinburgh, 2010; Soho, 2011); 2nd May 1997 (Bush, 2009); When You Cure Me (Bush, 2005; Radio 3's Drama on Three, 2006); Fanny and Faggot (Pleasance, Edinburgh, 2004 and 2007; Finborough, 2007; English Theatre of Bruges, 2007; Trafalgar Studios, 2007); and Stacy (Tron, 2006; Arcola, 2007; Trafalgar Studios, 2007). His television work includes His Dark Materials, Then Barbara Met Alan (with Genevieve Barr), The Eddy, Help, The Accident, Kiri, National Treasure and This is England ’86/’88/’90. His films include The Swimmers (with Sally El Hosaini), Enola Holmes, Radioactive, The Aeronauts and Wonder. He was the recipient of the Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award for Outstanding Contribution to Writing in 2022.

Book preview

cover-images

Jack Thorne

WHEN YOU

CURE ME

NICK HERN BOOKS

London

www.nickhernbooks.co.uk

Contents

Title Page

Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre

Dedication

Original Production

Characters

Act One

Act Two

Act Three

Act Four

About the Author

Copyright and Performing Rights Information

Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre

Our journey began in 1985 when RASASC (Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre) was set up in a small room above a shop in Croydon, having just two telephone lines and two staff members – all on just £100 donated by a local businessman. The sole purpose of the organisation at that time was to provide a confidential helpline that would support women and girls, fourteen years and over, who were survivors of rape and/or sexual abuse.

There was an overwhelmingly positive response to the service. We began receiving calls from women and girls all over the country, providing us with an understanding about the limited services available to survivors within the UK and Northern Ireland.

Much has changed since then. The Sapphire Units have been set up within the Metropolitan Police, ensuring that every London borough has a specially trained unit dedicated to the handling of rape and sexual abuse cases. The four Havens have been introduced in and around London – these units are ‘one-stop shops’ for survivors where they can go to receive medical and emotional care immediately after the rape or sexual abuse. The new Sexual Offences Bill was passed in May 2004 changing the law in such a way that the rapist now has to prove they had consent. It also expands the definition of rape to include oral and anal penetration.

RASASC has expanded its services considerably and we are very proud to operate the only confidential rape and sexual abuse helpline that is open 365 days a year. We also run a face-to-face counselling service that offers more than thirty-five sessions a week and we have recently set up an advocacy service for women and girls who are courageous enough to report the crime and go through the judicial system.

We have also increasingly become a resource for other professionals, giving talks and training to colleges, police, hospitals, social services, GPs and other support services on the subject of rape and sexual abuse. In addition we are part of an independent advisory group to the Metropolitan Police on rape as well as being a member of other local partnerships and committees. As experts in the field we are also regularly asked to advise on television scripts as well as give media interviews. All of this helps raise awareness about rape and sexual abuse and bring about improved services to survivors.

The extent to which rape and sexual abuse occurs may never be known as the statistics available are only based on reported cases. Our experience tells us that most survivors do not report these horrendous crimes. Government statistics support this as they show that only 1 in 10 survivors will actually come forward and report the rape. Even more upsetting is the fact that of the very limited number that are being reported, only 6% are actually going to court and gaining a conviction.

Equally distressing is the fact that in 2001 there were in excess of fifty support centres around the country and today there are fewer than forty. The reason: there is a desperate lack of government, local and private funding being made available to us. The government continues to believe that services of this kind should remain within the voluntary and charitable sector, limiting our access to government funding.

On a daily basis, our team of professional women are dealing with very sensitive issues that are extremely painful and difficult to hear – and at times hard to comprehend. The devastation that follows rape or sexual abuse does not stop with the survivor – it has serious implications for those that are supporting them. Relationships change, dependencies grow, psychological and physical illness often sets in and suffering for all involved increases. Few can actually comprehend the impact of this heartless and shocking crime and many choose never to think about it at all. But for those whose lives have been touched by it, there is very little that will ever compare to its destruction and pain.

It is therefore our hope that in the next twenty years, through the work that we and other organisations and centres like ours carry out, we will be able to significantly increase the support available to survivors, increase the number of people coming forward to report rape and sexual abuse, increase the number of convictions gained and motivate both the government and the public to take this seriously enough to find ways to make the UK a safer place for all.

*

As a charitable organisation, we exist on grants and donations. If you feel that you would be able to make a donation, however large or small, we would be extremely grateful. This can be done by contacting us on 020 8683 3311 or by sending a cheque to RASASC, PO Box 383, Croydon, CR9 2AW. Thank you.

www.rasasc.org.uk

The author’s proceeds from sales of this book are being donated to RASASC.

For Chris Thorne and Fiona Bleach

When You Cure Me was first performed at the Bush Theatre, London, on 16 November 2005, with the following cast:

When You Cure Me received its first workshops as part of the National Youth Theatre’s Short Nyts season in August 2004, directed