Chicago, Illinois May 14, 2020 (Issuewire.com) - Award-winning playwright David-Matthew Barnes has penned a new stage play titled Clean that explores the impact of Alzheimer's on a family, specifically the complicated relationship between a once-famous mother and her unforgiving daughter.
In the play, a former movie star named Victoria is suffering from the beginning stages of Alzheimer's. Struggling to maintain her independence, Victoria resists a friendship with her equally stubborn housekeeper and must face the sudden arrival of her estranged daughter.
"Clean has been a part of my life for more than 20 years," says Barnes. "I wrote the first draft of the script while living in Chicago, shortly after I'd read an article about actress Rita Hayworth and her personal struggle with Alzheimer's. While the character of Victoria was inspired by Rita Hayworth (the play is dedicated to her), she is certainly a woman of her own."
The all-female play is set in the shadows of old Hollywood and consists of only three scenes, but this wasn't always the case. Barnes explains, "Clean was initially a one-act play, which was the first scene of this new, expanded version. I always knew and felt there was more story to tell about Maria and Victoria's beautiful friendship and Victoria's complicated relationship with her daughter Melanie, who is only mentioned in the earlier version of the play but is a character on stage in this one."
Barnes, who has written more than fifty stage plays that have been produced in three languages in eleven countries, has been writing plays since childhood and has become known for writing multifaceted roles for women. His work has been featured in several publications and anthologies, including multiple editions of The Best Women's Stage Monologues (Smith & Kraus).
Clean (Blue Dasher Press), which has been produced at colleges and in community theaters across the country, has been striking a strong emotional chord with audiences and the actors playing the roles on stage. For Barnes, writing Clean was an equally intense creative process. "While working on this new version of the script over the last year, my heart broke many times while writing these women's words," he says. "I know there are many people and families who are having similar conversations - famous or not."
Barnes says he hopes Clean will continue to bring much-needed attention to Alzheimer's. "It's an important conversation that should never stop."
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