Boo

'The great thing about Barbara is you can't half... BOO!'

Barbara's mam makes fun of her for being deaf. It's her mam's way of making it easier for people, so it isn't so embarrassing. But when in 1949 those new hospitals come along – 'death traps', people are calling them – it's her mam who makes her go along and get her ears seen to.

Jack Thorne's Boo is a powerful and beautifully observed short play for one actor, exploring the impact of the newly established National Health Service on working people's lives.

It was first performed by Sophie Stone as part of The Greatest Wealth: In Celebration of the NHS at The Old Vic, London, on 25 June 2018, directed by Adrian Lester.

Note to Performers: The play's dialogue should be signed, and simultaneously translated for a hearing audience.

Boo is published in the volume Jack Thorne Plays: Two.