Factor 9

Profilteatern, Umea, Sweden and tour of Denmark, Wales, Scotland

March-April 2014

Ben’s return to working with Dogstar after the global success of The Tailor of Inverness was a powerful staging of the tragedy of the factor 8 and factor 9 blood products scandal which caused thousands of deaths across the world.

With a strong text by Hamish Macdonald based on the testimonies of Bruce Norval and Robert Mackie, set design by Emily James, video design by Tim Reid, music by Pippa Murphy and lighting by Paul Claydon, the production featured outstanding performances from Matthew Zajac and Stewart Porter

We were very fortunate in the financial and moral support given by the amazing team at Profilteatern in Umea, Sweden, where we did the technical rehearsals and opening week of the production.

The production toured just before the results of the Penrose Inquiry into the scandal published its results in May 2014

We hope that the play will go some way to finding justice and compensation for the thousands of victims and their families

Anders Sjogren, Vasterbottens Kuriren

…a furiously skilful play. Everything works: the timing of the actors, the lighting, the sound and video projections…Be sure to see it. It is an important play about a dark time.

Jonas Danielsson, Folkbladet

Two actors in front of a smart and really stylish set deliver a tumultuous story…. They take us under the skin of two afflicted individuals. And their hunt for answers soon develops into a heartrending sort of crime story

Victor Hallett, Theatre in Wales

Both Stewart Porter as Rab and Matthew Zajac as Bruce lay the facts out well, tell the history clearly and, most importantly, make us feel the horror that creeps into these men’s lives.There is an outstanding sound design by Pippa Murphy which often seems to envelope the audience. Ben Harrison’s direction is never static and his cast use their modest acting space with wit and variation.