Who Cares Makes the Audience Care By Nick Poulos

A good performance is something that makes people feel, something that makes them care, and something that leaves them thinking after the show is over. Who Cares opens with music such as “Back in Black” by AC/DC and “Ride” by Twenty One Pilots as the actors begin playing their roles of teens, chewing gum and loudly listening to music. Shortly, they began to tell their stories. The stories of children who, for multiple reasons, were left with only one parent. Some left with none.

The actors in Who Cares switch characters frequently, going from the teens that we are familiar with, to the parents of the children themselves, to even the providers of government aid for children who provide for their parents. These transitions are seamless, happening over the music of popular teen bands like Twenty One Pilots. The cast also keeps their many different wardrobe changes in lockers, helping to create the atmosphere and feel of a middle school/junior high. Perhaps the thing that Who Cares does best however, is make the audience care about these stories. LUNG and The Lowry conducted interviews over a two year period with young carers living in Salford, and you can see the authenticity to the interviews that they bring to the stage.

I personally am not a young carer, and I don’t know anyone who is, however the connections to my life are still there. My father was diagnosed with COPD about two years ago, it’s a lung disease that makes it hard to breathe when he has to lift things. The problem is, he was denied disability, and without a college degree or any form of technology knowledge, the only work that he can do involves manual labor. Lifting. Being denied disability is something that the show discusses as the actors turn into the parents, as one of them was denied disability money as well.

The actors flawlessly performed the roles of the teens, often struggling with having to provide for their parents, but having no one to provide for them. I was frequently fighting back tears while silently screaming to myself, “Not today damn it!” They want to do right by their parents, but they also want to just be kids and live their own lives. Often times, my dad will ask me to help him scan copies of his paychecks to send to his lawyer. My brother always promises to do this, but he never does. You know how 18 year old boys with girlfriends are. And since both my parents are technologically challenges, the responsibility falls on me. While I have complained about the unfairness of this in the past, Who Cares reminds me that I don’t know how much time I have left with my dad. None of my family does. And while I may not like always having to carry the burden, I will do it gladly from now on. Because after all, there’s no one else that I would like to spend time with more than my dad.