Dream of Perfect Sleep, Finborough Theatre

Another world premiere at the Finborough comes in the form of Dream of Perfect Sleep, a powerful play about memory loss and a family facing imminent death. 

The Story...

The play opens with an upside-down Christmas tree in Mary and Gene’s house. Gene is trying to organise a big holiday meal for his wife and their two visiting children; Robert and Melissa. Their addictions and adopted beliefs have seen them estranged from their parents for many years but now Gene has some bad news to break, which threatens to undo them all.

Supported by Alzheimer and Dementia charities, Dream of a Perfect Sleep makes for emotional viewing; writer Kevin Kautzman has chosen an illness that is a nightmarish reality for so many people. But in this gentle and funny story, it is examined with care. The four characters are skilfully written and they speak to each other candidly. As Mary says to her husband: “I don't have any control over this. Soon everything will melt. This couch. The coffee table. The vase. Gene, I am so terribly sad, but I don't know why.”

The Backstory...

Dream of Perfect Sleep has been through years of workshopping and adjustments, starting in Ohio in 2012. Since then, the play has been read at the UK’s Tristan Bates Theatre in 2013 as part of the American Actors Festival and won two awards in the States. Most recently, Kautzman wrote Obamamerica for Theatre 503’s American New Writing Festival. Of his latest play though, he said, “This is a deeply personal play for me, and was partly inspired by a story related to me by a stranger... Scripts may be written alone, but plays are made in community. I’m excited and honoured to have the opportunity to share Dream of Perfect Sleep with yours.”

The Production...

For its UK premiere, the cast combines the forces of Susan Tracy, Martin Wimbush, Cory English and Lisa Caruccio Came. In the challenging role of Mary, Susan Tracy will doubtless shine. Her last performance at the Finborough was in Terrance Rattigan’s Variation on a Theme earlier this year, and she was praised as “magnificent” and “electrifying” by The Telegraph. 

We urge you not to miss this beautiful and moving account of an elderly couple’s final days. A dark comedy on the surface, Kautzman’s play has a big heart. Half a decade of his hard work comes to a head at the Finborough this month.