EDINBURGH 2023: Review: LET THE BODIES PILE, Gilded Balloon

What two mass death stories link the plot of Let The Bodies Pile? We start off in 1993 where Georgie is visiting her brother Frank for the first time in a while following the death of their mother.

While making funeral arrangements it seems there is some tension between the siblings. While his sister left home, moved to France and had a family, he stayed and took care of his mother. He never got the chance to have his own life. His sister questions exactly what happened to their mother and raises concerns about their family doctor, Harold Shipman. Frank had heard the rumours- was it negligent that he let Dr Death give his elderly mother her flu jag?

Fast forward to 2020 and we meet a woman working in a care home. The news is plastered with Matt Hancock assuring everyone they are following the science. But when NHS patients are discharged to the care home 

the staff question their own worth. Is it £8.80 an hour? To risk the lives of themselves and their families? Is it murder by neglect if they don’t rush to tend to these new patients exhibiting coughs?

Henry Naylor’s writing is exceptional and this play is completely gripping throughout. The two actors give an incredible performance in this twisty piece of writing. It addresses some serious questions about who is complicit in deaths under these conditions. Let The Bodies Pile is a powerful and chilling piece of theatre.

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