
Much Ado About Dying: John chats to film maker Simon Chambers
Simon explains the story of caring for his flamboyant, elderly uncle.
Filmmaker Simon finds his life drastically interrupted when he is called back to London from India to care for his retired bohemian gay actor Uncle David. Everything that could go wrong does go wrong.
David’s anarchic spirit is unbreakable. He fights with Simon, refusing to go into a care home, insisting on dying in the squalor of his unheated tumble-down house. He can’t remember where he put his false teeth but he still knows nearly all the lines from his beloved Shakespeare plays. David’s real life starts to echo “King Lear”, the play about an old man going mad and giving his kingdom away, as David starts giving away thousands of pounds to a hot sexy “helper”.
How do we deal with and care for our relatives who are living longer than ever? How does Simon help David to have a good death?
Simon is in Belfast for a Q&A and screening of Much Ado About Dying and joins John in studio.