Fibres – A Theatre Play About Asbestosis
Award winning Scottish playwright Frances Poet has created a play tackling the issue of Asbestosis.
The play which has run throughout October and early November in Scotland focuses on a shipyard worker, Jack, and his wife, Beanie.
It addresses a difficult reality that still exists for workers associated to the construction industry today.
Asbestos can still be found in any building either built or refurbished before 1999. This means that although it’s been banned for 20 years, Asbestos is still affecting people today. The UK is thought to have one of the highest rates of mesothelioma (Asbestosis) in the world. Those who work in construction and other trade industries are likely to have been exposed to the material and therefore be at an increased risk of developing mesothelioma.
People who worked in the shipbuilding industry or served aboard ships are at a particularly high risk due to the fact that asbestos was used so much in the construction of older ships.
Fibres looks at how this affects both Jack as a Shipyard worker and his wife Beanie who is diagnosed with Asbestosis as a result of years of washing his contaminated work-wear.
“If you have a connection to the material, it will be painful but hopefully cathartic, because we can hold the anger you are feeling. If you don’t have a connection, it will make you feel angry and hold that for others.”
Writer of Fibres, Frances Poet, speaks to Nadine Bay at The National.
The play has received numerous 4 & 5 star reviews as a result of its moving performances and comedic delivery.
