St Mary’s Professor Presents Play at the House of Lords

Prof Trevor Walker (Professor of Drama) at St Mary’s University College, Twickenham, has been invited by Baroness Joan Bakewell to present a production of Nell Dunn’s play Home Death at the House of Lords on Tuesday 24^th April. The event is to be attended by peers of the House, and is followed by a discussion of the issues raised by the play, led by Lord Falconer and chaired by Baroness Bakewell. Other speakers include Sarah Wootton (CEO of Dignity in Dying), Eve Richardson (CEO of The National Council for Palliative Care), Dr Jane Collins (CEO of Marie Curie Cancer Care), along with playwright and novelist Nell Dunn. Home Death was first directed by Prof Walker at the Royal Society of Medicine in 2011 and tells the true stories of a number of people who choose to die at home. One of the characters in the play is jazz musician, George Melly, whose illness and subsequent death is described by his wife, Diana. The cast includes Edward de Souza, Jane Maud and Caroline Blakiston. Prof Walker commented, “It is interesting that a piece of verbatim theatre has been chosen to contribute to the debate on assisted dying. We have performed this play several times at medical conferences across the UK and have been sponsored by parties on both sides of the argument.”