POLHEIM (Stage, 2023)

A husband and a wife and some elephants in the room, where the Elephants become actors in the drama, walking onto the stage with voices and characters and motives of their own. 

It's Friday 27th July 2012. Captain Robert Falcon ‘Con’ Scott and his wife Kathleen are preparing to watch the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games in their Chelsea flat. But a knock at the door heralds the arrival of Bob and Aya, ostensibly the neighbours whose TV has broken down, come to beg a favour. In reality, Bob and Aya have come to put Con and Kath through an ordeal, force them to confront their sins, warn them of the consequences and ultimately make them an Offer, something that might just get them out of trouble, but at a terrible cost.

The historic Scott reached the Pole in January 1912, discovered Amundsen had beaten him by a month. Scott’s return journey went catastrophically wrong, none of his team returning to civilisation.

In POLHEIM Scott reaches the Pole on January 2012, discovers Amundsen has beaten him by a month, but this time when his return journey goes wrong, Scott gets a distress call out in time for Amundsen to turn South and pull off a heroic rescue. In 1912 Amundsen was the villain of the piece, but in 2012 he is the hero of the hour, showered with awards, sponsorship deals and acclaim, while Scott must make do with being the Runner Up, the Loser, enduring frequent mentions on Mock the Week. Amundsen is awarded an Honorary Knighthood by HMQ, while Scott must make do with a humble MBE, queuing up behind Gary Barlow to be invested by a minor royal who’s name he can now no longer remember.

Con turns to the dark side, driven by bitterness and resentment, using Social media to attack Amundsen anonymously, but with fatal consequences. Bob and Aya have come to give him a final chance to put things right.