Five Characters in Search of a Good Night’s Sleep finally premiers after delays from Covid-19

A play set over one night following five characters as they struggle to sleep is premiering at a Southwark theatre after being delayed for two years by Covid-19.

Five Characters in Search of a Good Night’s Sleep was devised by Mike Alfreds and Sonja Linden alongside the five actors, Geraldine Alexander, Andrew Hawkins, Sally Knyvette, Gary Lilburn and Vincenzo Nicoli.

The show follows five insomniacs as they try to make it through the night.

From dusk to dawn, they struggle with a crisis in their lives which they must resolve by morning.

Increasingly conscious of their shortening futures and lengthening pasts, they fill their nights with distracting activities, desperate sleep techniques, evaluations of their lives, delusions, fears, panics and utter foolishness as they prepare to face the day.

The play was developed over a two-year period through a series of workshops where the material for the play was created by the actors.

Ms Linden said: “It feels wonderful and very special to reunite our fantastic cast of older actors to share this production, having had to postpone the 2020 run.

“In this show we explore the universal experience of sleep and those moments where it proves elusive, something that many, particularly as we get older can relate to.”

Website: Five Characters in Search of a Good Night's Sleep - Southwark Playhouse | Theatre and Bar