Dream of Perfect Sleep

<p>  Kevin Kautzman an American playwright here making his British debut has hit upon an important subject: how we deal with dementia and attendant problems in a world where the old are growing ever larger in number...</p><p>  It's difficult to describe the play without revealing the moral dilemma it poses. All I can say is that it takes the form of a fraught family reunion in which an elderly couple invite their grownup children to what looks like a Christmas dinner even though it is only mid-June. Gene the dad has an unspecified terminal illness and his wife Mary who periodically lapses into fantasies of being a Sumerian fertility goddess has only the shakiest grasp on reality. Together they have made a big decision which they announce to Robert a recovering addict and their adopted daughter Melissa who is into tantric healing.</p><p>  ...Kautzman has written a perfectly good family play with palpable echoes of O'Neill...</p><p>Michael Billington The Guardian</p><p><br></p><p>  There is a feeling of raw truth about this play that is constantly absorbing.</p><p>Whats On Stage</p><p><br></p><p>  A funny heartwarming and powerful story of hope and loss-as an elderly couple plan their last days on earth.</p><p>Broadway World</p><p><br></p><p>  A play that seeks to tug at your heartstrings and not overburden you with guilt and scenes of familial dysfunction.</p><p>Everything Theatre</p><p><br></p><p>  Witty insightful.</p><p>Time Out</p><p><br></p><p>  An original insight into dementia.</p><p>Stage</p><p><br></p><p>  The story is moving and the questions Kautzman asks of death and aging are resounding.</p><p>A Younger Theatre</p><p><br></p><p>  [Kautzman] tackles serious themes without ever being heavy-handed or too earnest.</p><p>Public Reviews</p>