A Dream of Dying

Aim

In 2009, Peter Bergmann washed up on a beach in Ireland. This is not his real name. He did not live there. No one ever came to claim him,,,

In 2009, Peter Bergmann washed up on a beach in Ireland. This is not his real name. He did not live there. No one ever came to claim him. In this moving true story, he finally gets a voice...

'A Dream of Fying' by Irish playwright Treasa Nealon, was based on the true story of 'Peter Bergmann'; an as-of-yet unclaimed body that was discovered washed up on a beach in Sligo, Ireland in 2009. Using CCTV footage and interviews with local residents, they pieced together a strange and unique picture of the deceased man. They discovered he had distributed the contents of the pockets into various bins throughout the town, he had bought 8 envelopes and postage stamps but seemingly never sent them, and he checked into his hotel and a fake name using a non-existent Austrian address. The autopsy revealed the man had been suffering with advanced prostate cancer, multiple bone tumours and several previous heart attacks. The one-man play retraces Peter's life through his last days up until his body is discovered, and explores elements of self control and fate, and the debilitating effects that Cancer has not only on the body but the mind. TThe play will be performed by one actor who will use the research undertaken to inform his performance and communicate the message to a wide audience. The show will last one hour and play for 3 weeks at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. We will also engage 2 weeks of research and development to inform the project  from a scientific and educational point of view. A Dream of Dying will not only give a voice to a man who has since been forgotten, but will educate audiences on the subject of depression and other psychological disabilities that can be caused from living with incurable terminal diseases, as well as the difficulty of dealing with mortality.

'A Dream of Dying' is currently being expanded by the writer from a 20 minute short into a 45 minute solo performance. We have a director and performer on board who will continue to work with the writer on developing further artistic aspects of the production, as we are quite excited at looking at more creative and interdisciplinary ways to create and produce a one man play. When the 20 minute version was performed in October at The Space Arts Centre and January at Hounslow Arts Centre, it received frequent high praise from every audience member, so we are confident this project has huge potential to be an incredibly memorable piece of theatre.

This project successfully funded on 17th June 2016