The Phlebotomist (2022)

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Poster by Bryon Fear

by Ella Road

Directed by Mark Ireson

Performances: Tuesday 8 – Saturday 12 March 2022, Old Fire Station


Introduction

phle•bot•o•mist (fləˈbɒt ə mɪst)

n. A nurse or other health worker trained in drawing venous blood for testing or donation.

In an all too possible near future, your rating in a single blood test determines your prospects for education, jobs, credit, dating and so much more. Phlebotomist Bea meets and falls in love with Aaron, a high-rating, intelligent and handsome young man. The future looks bright, but when her lifelong friend Char discovers she has a low rating and asks Bea to fake a better blood sample, Bea enters the murky world of black market dealing. How far will people go in a world where health, wealth and happiness depend on a single blood test?

Ella Road's debut play The Phlebotomist opened at Hampstead Theatre in 2018. In 2019 the production received an Olivier Award nomination for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre, was a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize and was adapted into a radio drama for BBC Radio 3. In 2020 it was translated into German under the title Die Laborantin, leading to productions across Germany and Austria, and it became the most performed new play in the German language of 2021.

In between each of the 15 onstage scenes there are video and audio interludes, showing us glimpses of the world beyond the stage going to hell in a handcart.

Cast

with, on video and audio:

Crew

Thanks

One of the joys of making theatre is the creation of a collaborative community. Without the contributions of so many we would never have made it this far. As well as the cast and crew, particular thanks for their time, loans, support and suggestions are due to:

  • Induja Bandara, Alexander Rawlinson and Eliot
  • Charlotte Benstead
  • Jo Boniface and Hampstead Theatre
  • Graham and Jenny Clements and Darcey
  • Chaz Doyle
  • Laura Essex
  • Katie Floyd
  • Lily Ann Green
  • Bex Law
  • Tom Mathias
  • Patrycja Ozguven
  • Ben Rathe
  • Jane Roberts at the Rathbone Society
  • Jacob Smith

and all the SLT volunteers in the bar, box office, front of house and raffle teams, who keep things going so smoothly.

Reviews

Just want to say congratulations to everyone involved with The Phlebotomist last night! An interesting piece of sci-fi, doing what sci-fi does best, taking a question, pushing it to the limit and then discussing the real-life implications on people and relationships. Wonderful performances all round. Special mention to Sarah Pearcey and Jamie Bowman; I was completely invested in their relationship which seemed effortlessly natural and warm from the audience. Well done! DBS for the rest of the week.

Chaz Doyle


Hats off to Mark Ireson and team. Really engaging, empathetic performances that draw you into a play which raises a whole bunch of very pertinent questions. It may technically be science fiction, but it's not far off being scientific fact. And the questions are ones we need to be thinking about. Go see it.

Simon Gleisner


I was lucky enough to see a run last night - tremendous performances delivering a gritty, funny and at times heart-wrenching script, with context given by darkly comic multimedia. #BEAD and don't miss this show - it's a cracker!

Cal Beckett


I had the privilege of watching the dress run of “The Phlebotomist” last night and I found the story intriguing. A massive well done to Mark, the whole cast and crew for putting on such a show. Make sure that you BEAD, Wednesday is already sold out and Saturday is to looking to be the same!

Katie Floyd


Saw the Phlebotomist last night. Wow !!! Wonderful performances. An extremely thought provoking piece of theatre and sadly that is how some people would like the world to be. No variety just a load of perfect beings. Yuk !!! Let's hope this scenario never happens but unfortunately it has already started.

Lydie Koritsas


The Phlebotomist was great last night, there are some wonderful performances and it is a thought provoking play. If you haven't booked early, tomorrow night is pretty much your last chance. Just three left for tonight and one for Saturday. Grab them while you can.

Gareth Milton

Gallery

  • Phlebotomist002.jpg
  • Phlebotomist003.jpg
  • Phlebotomist004.jpg
  • Phlebotomist001.jpg
  • Phlebotomist005.jpg
  • Phlebotomist006.jpg
  • Phlebotomist007.jpg
  • Phlebotomist009.jpg
Find the full set of show photos here

Video interludes

The scenes on stage were interspersed with video and audio interludes showing what was happening in the rest of the world:

And, in my ongoing mission to get Graham Clements to come from behind the scenes, we made a trailer

Reminiscences and Anecdotes

Members are encouraged to write about their experiences of working on or seeing this production. Please leave your name. Anonymous entries may be deleted.

See Also

Have there been other SLT productions of this play? Link to them here.

Or add anything that is related within this site. The author's page for instance or other plays with a similar theme.

References

External Links

SLT podcast - Mark Ireson discusses the play

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