While a ‘do not attempt resuscitation’ order is the topic of discussion, there is plenty of life in this ambitious and deeply personal scrutiny of life, death and NHS pressures.
Written by Mo Maka, a real-life NHS doctor, this short yet intense two-hander looks at the intersection between healthcare protocols surrounding resuscitation and the emotional implications of such a decision for the relatives. Do Not Attempt This Conversation pits Dr Nneka (Maka) against frustrated Stephanie (AJ Samuel), desperate for news about her ill grandfather, in a claustrophobic hospital waiting room where the DNR document, served on medical grounds, is waiting to be signed.
Maka thrives as the first-year doctor, wrestling with personal anxiety while receiving limited workplace support, and embarking on such a difficult conversation for the first time. It is a brilliant performance and one that clearly means a great deal to Maka, and one wonders just how much the metatheatricality is at play here as Nneka reflects on the ‘God complex’ perception that her role entails. Indeed, it is a play which feels an invaluable resource for aspiring doctors to engage with, rather than the glitz and glamour on TV and Film screens. It is clear that Maka is pulling for personal experience here, where the writing bubbles over at times, such is Nneka’s fury about Stephanie’s treatment of her, the pressures upon junior doctors and the broader state of the NHS, where brilliant doctors like her are overworked and undervalued.
Yet, in this case, the play does not overplay its hand. Instead, through Samuel’s enraged, stubborn Stephanie, the skewering of the health system can, perhaps not deliberately, only briefly feel completely cathartic for any audience member who has themselves felt frustrated by NHS red tape. It is a neat inclusion by Maka in this script to weave in this complexity, rather than simply coming at it too much with a medical professional’s hat on. Stephanie shakes, screams and is emotionally shattered at the thought of, in her mind, letting her beloved grandfather die, and Maka succeeds in retaining the human frustration relatives such as Stephanie must feel, and Maka must come up against, despite its inevitable drain.
That said, the production does creak a little under its ambition. This is a really impactful script, yet the final 15 minutes take one plot turn too many, losing its sharp focus on the initial matter at hand for something slightly too generic. It is an inclusion that is well-meaning and full of potential in its own right, but the piece is much stronger and much more engrossing when Nneka and Stephanie interrogate each other.
Nevertheless, as debut plays go, this is a terrific start for Maka and for this production. With a little more fine-tuning, this could really be a searing piece of theatre, and though those cuts are not yet there, it is a brave and moving piece that largely succeeds in preserving the deeply human impact of an essentially already resolved, scientifically sterile conversation.
This is not a play about which side is right or wrong, but instead it is a play about listening and connecting, something ironically often complained about by NHS patients, but its importance is on clear display here.
An impressively lofty debut.
