Couldn't Care Less @ Traverse

Do not be fooled by the pastel colours and floral patterns on the elaborate set of this production; Couldn’t Care Less unfurls a narrative about Alzheimer’s and the impact it can have – both physically and mentally – on the lives of the people who have it, and those in their immediate environment.

In a little over an hour, Morna Pearson's play follows the evolution from mild forgetfulness to aggression through the tale of a mother and her daughter who comes to stay for a weekend. It observes the growing frustration on both sides of the relationship, as well as the awkward blankness that overcomes Alzheimer’s patients and eventually devours them whole. This comes across quite strongly as Elspeth (Hilde McKenna) drifts into surreal sequences merging her past and her thoughts, physically rearranging them.

Couldn’t Care Less also demonstrates the difficulties of taking on the role of the carer. To paraphrase Lilly (Liz Strange), it is often a matter of adapting to each other’s needs and learning "a new dance." Of course, it is much more difficult than it sounds; caring for someone with Alzheimer’s is a full-time job. 

With comic and tragic moments peppered here and there in the script, the production doesn’t really allow itself to reach a dramatic climax. Nonetheless, it is a difficult subject to breach on a stage, and so it is commendable and wonderful that Strange Theatre and Plutôt la Vie have managed to put together a show about Alzheimer's that is comical without ridiculing either of its two characters. [Eric Karoulla]