A therapist at an NHS counselling unit jokes darkly about throwing mental health patients out of an office window in the opening scene of this drama as he welcomes a new employee into the fold. Newbie Lydia (Lizzy Watts) does not see the funny side of it, but the joke plays out in the plot line, metaphorically. Georgina Burns’ play is an unshowy and accomplished debut, set mostly around the office (Debbie Duru’s origami-like set folds and unfolds into different rooms). It is full of perceptive insights into mental health management in a desperately overburdened system.
This office creaks with waiting lists and therapists are forced to push patients out of their doors quicker than they would like. Lydia is determined to bring change and pits herself against the unit’s more seasoned and perhaps more cynical counsellor Arthur (Jon Foster).
