Nurse Play

by James Wilkinson

90 min. - Tucked away in a boarding house in the middle of nowhere, Nurse, a woman with no eyes, sits in a dark room caring for her live-in patient, Joe. Joe has been diagnosed with a medical condition that keeps him bed bound, doped up and out of the light. The two have been left alone together for far too long and their relationship has devolved into a toxic codependency. Joe physically lashes out at Nurse at...

90 min. - Tucked away in a boarding house in the middle of nowhere, Nurse, a woman with no eyes, sits in a dark room caring for her live-in patient, Joe. Joe has been diagnosed with a medical condition that keeps him bed bound, doped up and out of the light. The two have been left alone together for far too long and their relationship has devolved into a toxic codependency. Joe physically lashes out at Nurse at every opportunity, while Nurse holds Joe’s condition and his dependency on her over his head. The two spend their day with Joe angling for more drugs, Nurse trying to play her Blondie records and both of them fending off the landlady that keeps knocking on their door. Then, after Nurse pushes Joe a bit too far, he vanishes (or does he?) and Nurse is left to contend with the surrounding darkness. Alone, Nurse’s ability to maintain her reality begins to crumble. Faced with the threat of madness, Nurse must fight to regain control of her own mental state.

  • Inquire About Rights
  • Recommend
  • Download
  • Save to Reading List

Nurse Play

Recommended by

  • Greg Lam: Nurse Play

    Wild and over the top. A battle of wills between two strange adversaries. NURSE PLAY crackles with sinister energy throughout and ends in a shocking crescendo. This playwright will be featured in a future episode of the Boston Podcast Players podcast (bostonpodcastplayers.com).

    Wild and over the top. A battle of wills between two strange adversaries. NURSE PLAY crackles with sinister energy throughout and ends in a shocking crescendo. This playwright will be featured in a future episode of the Boston Podcast Players podcast (bostonpodcastplayers.com).

Character Information

The cast requires two actors: one male, one female. Directors should feel free to play around with the ages of the characters (who is older than who and by how much), because I think there's some fun to be had seeing how the main dynamic shifts with different pairings.
  • Nurse
    A woman, any age from late 20’s to late 50’s. She is dressed in a “classic” 50’s nurse uniform complete with the white shoes and hat. NOT sexy-nurse-style costume (she’s far too practical for that). She looks to be in perfectly fine health except for one thing, she is missing her eyes. Two empty sockets stare out, where the eyes should be.
    Character Age
    25-65
    Character Gender Identity
    Female
  • Joe
    A man, any age from early 20’s to late 50’s. He is the patient NURSE is charged with taking care of. He is not in good health and looks rather frail. At the top of show, one of his feet is missing, as is one of his hands. Both limbs ending in a stump covered in bandages.
    Character Age
    20-50
    Character Gender Identity
    Male

Production History

  • Type Fringe, Organization Exiled Theatre, Year 2017

Awards

  • Best New Play - Small Stage
    Independent Reviewers of New England (IRNE) Award
    Finalist
    2018