Patch of Blue and 3hc are bringing You and Me (and Whoever Comes Next) to the Edinburgh Fringe this year. Alex Howarth, director and co-writer of the show, tells us more about the show.
“Recipient of the 2026 Mary Dick Award. Keron Day is disabled. Dani is his Personal Assistant (not as fancy as it sounds). A touching and funny exploration of how care goes both ways, inspired by a true story, with a live folk-infused score.”
Where: Old Lab at Summerhall
When: 6-29 Aug
Ticket link: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/you-and-me-and-whoever-comes-next
What can you tell us about your show? What is it about and where did the idea come from?
The play is inspired by disabled actor and activist Keron Day’s real-life experiences of working with PAs. It unpacks the complex relationship between a disabled person and their PA, something which is a fundamental part of Keron’s life, having had full-time PAs since the age of 18 and of mine, as a former care worker.
Keron and I met when our mutual friend Helen, who has known him for a long time, introduced us after he saw a show of ours in Plymouth. We got on straight away and quickly discovered we both wanted to write something about disabled people’s care. Just over two years later, we have a play, and we’re so excited to share it with audiences in Edinburgh as the winner of Summerhall’s Mary Dick Award.
How would you sell it to audiences in one paragraph?
The play is, we hope, a fascinating insight into a relationship rarely seen on stage. Can, or indeed should, a relationship between two people where one is paid to care for the other become real friendship, and what happens when it does? It explores the devastating impact of bad care but also celebrates the extraordinary impact of good care, with original live music evoking Keron’s home, Cornwall, from Merle Powell-Smith of the acclaimed alt-folk band māsa.
If you enjoyed our play Cassie and the Lights, this builds on its themes of care and family as well as its fourth-wall-breaking performance style, whilst tackling new and complex questions with humour and a lot of heart.
Do you enjoy participating in the Fringe? And do you have any moments you particularly remember?
This will be my 18th (!) Edinburgh Fringe in some capacity, which should give an idea of how much I love it! It really has changed my life; none of the other opportunities I’ve had in my career would have happened had it not been for the success of my work in Edinburgh, and I am incredibly grateful for everything it has given me.
A moment that sticks out at a Fringe festival was being approached after a performance of Cassie and the Lights by a woman who was at that time in the same situation as its lead character- trying to get custody of her younger siblings to keep them out of the care system. She came four times in the end, bringing some of her siblings, and wrote us a beautiful letter about how much it had meant to her to see a story so similar to hers represented on stage. It reminded us why we do this and renewed our energy to keep making work that explores unseen sides of care.
What are you looking forward to the most in Edinburgh?
We’re excited to be going some small way to addressing the lack of disabled representation in theatre, which, if it is to improve, must start at the Fringe. We’re really keen to check out other work by disabled artists and anything else that explores the care system, so if that’s your show please hit us up! We’re also excited to see work by artists we love like Hannah Maxwell, Bryony Kimmings, In Bed With My Brother and Sh!t Theatre.
What’s next for the show?
We’re aiming to build a tour for 27/28 including a London run, but we’re also excited for any opportunities that might come from Edinburgh. We’re so excited to tell this story and want to share it with as many audiences as we can.