Weather the Storm tells the interwoven stories of three stroke survivors and their carers. One time multi-linguist Jawad, shot five times at close range in Iraq, escaped with his life to England, where a stroke left him without speech and unable to stand. Fernando was the flower king of Madeira, owning many of the island’s garden centres. Then he fell in love with Edilane, 20 years his junior, and she fell in love with him. They moved to England where Fernando suffered a devastating stroke. Primary school teacher Fiona whose passion for her work was cut short by her stroke, leaving her bereft of the thrill of Forest school with its the squelching boots, yelping, burnt marshmallows on sticks, sparks in the fire. The stories focus on the exhausting marathon of discovering a post-stroke identity; the gains and the setbacks; the effort of will required to regain speech and movement. And the vital role of the carer.
The Garsington Adult Company are the chorus, who alternate the roles of NHS stroke staff, stroke survivor carers, family and friends. They will be joined by actual NHS Stroke staff, singing in their real-life roles. As in I Look for the Think, professional singers take the roles of the three main characters and their carers, shadowing the actual on-stage presence the stroke survivors and carers they play.
