THE effect of Alzheimer’s Disease on two brothers is explored in a new play having its world premiere in Abingdon next month.

Written by Oxfordshire playwright Stephen Rees, The Wrong Goodbye charts what happens when Sam gives up his career as a talented surgeon to become a full-time carer for his older sibling Ralf after he is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s in his late 40s.

The poignant, touching and occasionally funny play highlights the effects of Alzheimer’s not only on the sufferer but also on all their family and friends — the ones who love and care for them. In many ways, they have lost the one they love and yet they cannot grieve as the person is still alive.

Ten years on from taking on the carer role, Sam is demoralised, run down and slowly beginning to resent his former aeronautical engineer brother. He still cares dearly for him, but as Ralf deteriorates Sam questions whether he can go on providing what his brother needs.

The Wrong Goodbye tells of the trials and difficulties facing such a family and how they eventually find their own unique solution.

Rees’ work delves into a demographic timebomb facing us all — every three minutes, another person in the country is diagnosed with dementia.

By 2015, there will be 850,000 people with Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia, with two thirds of them living in the community, such as the character Ralf in The Wrong Goodbye, and one third being looked after in care homes.

The Wrong Goodbye is being brought to the stage of the Unicorn Theatre from Wedneday to Saturday, November 19 to 22, by Abingdon Drama Club.

Writer Rees, who is based in the town, told the Herald: “I’ve always been fascinated by the workings of the human mind, and my goal in writing this play was to explore the question ‘What defines us?’ Is it what we think? What we feel? What we do? And what if those things were taken from us? Would we be any less the person we used to be?

“These questions could not be more relevant than to be asked of someone with Alzheimer’s Disease — the biggest cause of dementia. The Wrong Goodbye does just that. But more than that, it delves into the heart and mind of one character, Sam, the man who gives up his career to become a full-time carer to his older brother, Ralf, who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.”

He added: “Ten years on, Ralf is in the advanced stages of dementia and Sam’s own mental health is beginning to suffer. The moral questions and decisions that Sam faces as well as the effect that his brother’s dementia has on him are the main thrust of the story.

“While the subject matter is of a serious nature, I have attempted to tell the story with a significant amount of humour, in order to provide the audience with a level of emotional equilibrium.”

Cathy Baldwin, of the Alzheimer’s Society, paid tribute to Rees’ work, saying she hoped it would increase awareness of dementia.

“The Wrong Goodbye is funny, moving and very real.” she said. “I couldn’t have asked for a greater compliment.

“I hope that in watching it, audiences will gain a greater understanding of dementia and of those who live with it.”

That same sentiment was echoed by the play’s director Lynne Smith who has aimed to handle the subject matter with sensitivity.

“It’s been a privilege and a pleasure to bring such an important new play to the stage,” she said.

John Hawkins takes the role of carer Sam, while Kieran Piggott plays his Alzheimer’s-afflicted brother Ralf.

On playing Sam, Hawkins said: “Sam is torn between devotion to his brother and the dawning realisation of what is still to come.

“He is beginning to resent the life he has not had for the past decade and while wanting more help so he can ‘live a little’, he struggles to let go of the protection he feels towards Ralf. He has become isolated and emotionally stunted, perhaps in some of the same ways that Ralf has, but for very different reasons.”

He added: “In some ways, Sam is a very sad character who you might pity or feel immense sympathy for on one hand, but frustrated and angry with on the other. Portraying all that on stage is a challenge that I can only hope I can meet and do justice to for all the thousands of carers who put their lives on hold, perhaps permanently, for the love of the people they cherish.

“Sam has mood swings just like Ralf and moving from one to the other makes him real.”

Maria Crocker plays the brothers’ sister Sally, another former surgeon, but now a full-time housewife. Both Sam and Maria had followed in their father’s footsteps with their medical careers.

Laura King plays Rachel, a doctor and founder of the Evergreen care home for those with dementia, and Kaylee Corcoran and Terry Atkinson are nurses Jane and Tim. Tony Green, Nigel Tait, Geraldine Mctier and Jill Calvert play residents Simon, Gerald, Lotty and Winnie.

Charlotte Griffiths completes the cast as police officer Sgt Adams.

Tickets for the play, being performed at 7.30pm nightly, are £10 full price or £7 for over-60s and students. They are available from The Bookstore, Bury Street precinct, Abingdon, by email to: tickets@unicornboxoffice.org.uk, by calling 0845 4636638 or online at: www.abingdon-drama-club.com