How do I live with myself if someone gets hurt because of my mistake?
How do you live with yourself if you walk away?
In March 2020, hundreds of final year medical students finished their studies early, and started work on the frontline of the Coronavirus pandemic. This is the story of one of them, a newly qualified doctor, Jaskaran.
On her first day at work, Jaskaran is deployed to her hospital’s Covid Intensive Care Unit. Nothing prepares her for what she finds.
Rows of intubated patients, the rhythmic hiss of ventilators, the screech of alarms indicating abnormal vital signs, the constant rolling of paralysed bodies to prevent bed sores, the pain and blisters of wearing full PPE for 12 hour shifts, and the crying relatives saying goodbye via Skype…
This burden was carried alone by a generation of young doctors and nurses, who couldn’t even get a hug from their parents, in case they passed the virus on.
New writer Shaan Sahota is a junior doctor who lived this experience. She is also a member of the 2020 Tamasha Playwrights group.
Under the Mask is Shaan's extraordinary debut, recorded on location using sound gathered in real Covid wards, using fully immersive, 360-degree binaural sound. Whilst listening through headphones onstage, it makes you feel you’re right there in the moment. A doctor’s perspective on the Coronavirus pandemic in British hospitals, it puts you into Jaskaran’s shoes, uncovering a remarkable story of fortitude, hope and strength.
Portrait by paper collage artist Rosalind Freeborn (www.paperface.co.uk)
Rose Studio
Running Time: 60 mins
Age guidance: 14+
Tickets are sold on an unallocated basis due to the nature of this event. All seats are onstage and strictly limited to 20 per performance.
Access tickets are available for £10. Customers with access requirements should contact the box office on 020 8174 0090 or [email protected].
Due to the nature of this performance, please let the box office know when you book your tickets if you are hard of hearing so that we may appropriately accommodate for you.
The Rose has implemented all necessary measures to ensure we are a COVID-19 secure venue and have met the guidelines set out by the government to make your visit safe. Performances of Under the Mask are currently on sale with socially distanced seating and will remain socially distanced even after the 19 July lifting of restrictions.
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The Rose is proud to be 'See it Safely' approved.