IMAGINE being unable to move, trapped in your own body. How would you cope? Would you cope? And when you couldn't cope any longer, what then?
Those are the questions tackled by Edinburgh amateurs Leitheatre next week in Whose Life is it Anyway? at the Church Hill Theatre.
Set in a hospital, the play charts the tragic case of Ken Harrison, a sculptor who has been paralysed from the neck
down in a car accident.
With only his brain functioning normally, he is being kept alive by the miracle of modern medicine, however he is determined to be allowed to die.
He could achieve this by discharging himself from the hospital, but being totally helpless, he has to gain the authorities' consent. It's a heavy piece for the company to present, but director Steve McDowall believes that amateur companies should push themselves out of their comfort zone.
"It's actually one of my all-time favourite plays. So the content itself was actually secondary when choosing to do it. I just like it because it is a good drama and the appeal of the subtextual emotions of the characters involved in it," he says.
"If the actors can achieve the subtext within the speeches then I think it's important that amateur clubs tackle dark, challenging and demanding pieces of work like this. And while the piece is quite heavy, there is also light and black humour in it, which makes it a bit easier on the ear."
Based on his 1972 TV play of the same name, Brian Clark's stage adaptation of Whose Life is it Anyway? premiered on the West End of London at the Mermaid Theatre in 1978, with Tom Conti playing as Ken.
A year later Conti reprised the role for his Broadway debut – and won the 1979 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play – when the piece transferred to the Trafalgar Theatre (now the Nederlander Theatre) in New York City.
It is the second time McDowall has directed a production of the play. The first time was back in 1990. He recalls, "I did this play with the Edinburgh Youth Theatre and it was very successful. Returning to it I can see that it is timeless. It covered the issues back in the 70s when it was written and it's relevant to today, although I have updated it slightly because of modern day inventions. But I have set it in the mid-90s."
Presenting arguments both for and against euthanasia and exploring to what extent government should be allowed to interfere, the play mirrors the current debate on euthanasia and the release of research last month that revealed almost a third of doctors admit they have given drugs to terminally ill patients or withdrawn treat-ment, knowing or intending that it would shorten their life.
The play examines the moral and legal aspects of the situation, and the reactions of the hospital staff, culminating with Ken's case being laid before a judge who hears the evidence and gives his verdict.
McDowall has chosen to have a minimal set to allow the arguments centre stage. "This time round I have an adult cast, so they are nearer to the ages of the characters, which has allowed me to approach it slightly differently," he says.
"But again I've directed it without any doors. I think doors get in the way. Instead each scene is defined by lighting. The cast have really risen to the occasion and are enjoying rehearsing the play. I think it's the first time they've ever all been off the book and known their lines before going into rehearsal.
"Ultimately it's the message of the piece that is important. It's about quality of life. If it was an animal that couldn't move, the vet would put it down without question.
"Do people have the right to have a dignified life as well as a dignified death? It's left to the audience's conscience to decide.
"The ending for the character might be final but the audience are left with the thought: 'What if I or one of my family were left in that position?' "
Whose Life is it Anyway?, Church Hill Theatre, Morningside Road, Wednesday-Saturday, 7.30pm, £9, 0131-668 2019