Keron Day's Play Tackles Live-in Care Boundaries
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- Patch of Blue presents "You and Me (and Whoever Comes Next)" at Summerhall, Edinburgh, running until 29 August.
- Keron Day, a disabled actor, co-wrote the play and stars as himself, drawing directly on his experiences with a line of personal assistants who provide live-in care.
- The piece was co-written by Day, Helen Chong and director Alex Howarth — a former care worker — with Lauren Koster as PA Dani and Martha Walker playing a parade of past PAs.
- The script probes how intimate and professional lines blur: Keron relies on Dani for tasks like dressing, while she depends on him as her employer.
- Merle Powell-Smith performs her own folk compositions live on stage, creating a community feel rather than a traditional ensemble.
- Government cuts hover over both characters' lives, and the play ends on Day's commitment to protect others in his position.
- The review links the production to Patch of Blue's 2022 fringe hit "Cassie and the Lights," citing the same mix of emotional honesty, humour and social purpose.
Why it matters: The play lands amid documented UK pressure on social care funding, giving Day's lived experience of dependence on personal assistants an explicit political edge. By placing a disabled performer at the centre of his own story about pity, ridicule and reliance, Patch of Blue turns a specific care relationship into a lens on broader questions of dependence and dignity.
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