Why Marie’s play should be on prescription...

That was the remark of one Belfast shopper to playwright Marie Jones about her play ‘Fly Me To The Moon’ which comes to the Riverside Theatre in Coleraine later this month.

“That was the best review I’ve ever had,” said Marie who spoke to the Coleraine Times ahead of the comedy which plays in the Riverside on February 23.

The comedy drama centres around Frances and Loretta who are community care visitors.

Davey, one of their elderly charges, has had a significant win on the horses, but he doesn’t know. When the cash-strapped women learn that Davey will not be around for a considerable time, they are faced with a mouth-watering dilemma.

The basis for the play came from Marie’s visits, along with her sister, to their mother’s care home where she was looked after for two years.

“We were in and out of there every day for two years and we started to get to know the care workers and the patients. We started talking to them and hearing their stories.

“Care workers doing home visits are maybe getting 20 minutes per visit. That’s just enough time to look after someone’s bodily needs, not talk to them or socialise or provide any stimulation.

“So I decided to write something about these girls who find themselves with an opportunity that they never wanted in the first place.

“They work extremely hard, they never have any extra money, they are struggling to send their kids on school trips, they are very vulnerable in their lives.

“They make one error of judgement and the message underneath the comedy for the audience is to ask themselves ‘what would I do?’

“And I think that the audience understands why they do what they do.”

Written in 2102, ‘Fly Me To The Moon’ - the title is a nod to Davey’s love of Frank Sinatra music - is available to book now on 028 70123123 or online at www.ulster.ac.uk/riverside