Ipso Facto, Rose R: A Brief Awakening, Fringe Studio, January 25-28.
WHAT would it be like to live in a world where you could be young forever? And then what would it be like to find out suddenly that instead of having your life stretching infinitely before you, it is all behind you and you missed it? In the one-woman play Rose R: A Brief Awakening, actress Margot Nies explores the progressive illness of a woman who fell victim to the mysterious sleeping sickness epidemic that swept Europe and the United States after World War I.
The story revolves around a few weeks in 1969 when Rose is, momentarily, brought back into the ''real world'' with the help of a new drug.
''Tell me Rose, what do you think about?'' asks the intrusively loud voice of the doctor.
''Nothing doctor: it's easy. One way to think of nothing is to think of the same thing over and over again,'' she says.
But, with a compelling blend of movement, song and anecdote, Ms Nies depicts that nothing world as full of interest - dirty limericks, shoes that try and escape from her, the comfort of familiar things and the joy of being 21 forever.
