Patient : Soldier – Civic Theatre – Review

DATE & TIME: 27 Apr – 1 May // 8:15pm
LOCATION: Studio Theatre

In this play, we meet Death! Yes, the Grim Reaper, or Dr Reaper, visits to tell us about his battle with one Barra Fitzgibbon. While Dr Reaper has lived through a variety of plagues, such as the Black Death, Spanish Flu and Cholera, it is rare to get such epidemics in modern-day England. The year is 2020, and we are just learning about the arrival of Covid, or the Corona virus as it was known. We meet one Irishman, Barra Fitzgibbon, living in London and hear his tale.

The play is performed by Katherine White, with the young actress playing all parts, including Barra, the Grim Reaper and various friends and medical staff. It opens with a degree of audience participation, with Dr Reaper taking some details of those in the audience, such as name, age and address. We then get a short introduction to the piece from Dr Reaper before we hear the details of Barra and his fight for survival. Elements of this story are true, and at the end of the performance, the real-life Barra, who is also the writer of the piece, was on stage to introduce a short Q&A. It does add to the tale that it is based on a real-life case.

The play is performed with a minimal set, with only a chair and a table used on stage. There are also some images projected onto the back wall of the set, showing headlines of newspapers relating to the early days of the virus outbreak.

It seems surprising how quickly life has returned to normal since COVID-19, and we now have new problems creating the headlines, like the war in Iran and the price of oil, to name but a few. With the epidemic being sufficiently far in our rear-view mirrors, it is worthwhile to have a piece such as this to celebrate the efforts of the NHS and other hospital staff who risked their own lives to help others. The piece is one man’s battle for life, with the supernatural element of the story adding some humour and insights. The highlight of the piece was the performance of the young actress, Katherine White, who worked extremely hard to bring the various characters to life.

PATIENT: SOLDIER

Written by Barra Fitzgibbon
Director Daniel Clarkson (Olivier Nominated)
Katherine White, the co-writer and an award-winning writer with Dr Who credits, will be performing the play
Gary Trainor
Adam Foley (lighting designer) is an award-winning West End designer.
Presented By: Barra Fitzgibbon
Duration: 60 mins. No interval

APRIL/MAY 2026

Civic Theatre – Tallaght: 27th of April- 1st of May
Draiocht Theatre- Blanchardstown: 7th of May
Watergate Theatre, Kilkenny: 14th of May
St John’s Theatre Listowel, Co Kerry: 16th of May
Cork Arts Theatre: 20th-23rd of May
Mermaid Arts Centre, Bray: 26th of May