Hello! My name is Charlie Merriman; I am an actor & writer with the medical condition cystic fibrosis. I have performed my debut one-man show WONDER DRUG: A Comedy about Cystic Fibrosis at VAULT Festival 2023 and the King's Head Theatre, and next we're hoping to take the show to the Pleasance Courtyard at this year's Edinburgh Fringe - this is why I'm asking for your help. I am working with the arts organisation Live Canon, who are assisting with the production, administration and fundraising.
What Is Cystic Fibrosis?
Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a genetic condition that affects around 11,000 people in the UK and around 100,000 people all over the world. It causes a build-up of thick, sticky mucus in the lungs, digestive system and other organs, which leads to a wide range of challenging symptoms affecting the whole body. I, for example, have to take tablets in order to digest food, and I need to do chest physiotherapy morning and evening every day to clear out the excess mucus.
This sticky mucus in the lungs of people with CF makes it easier for bacteria to become trapped, causing infections which require regular intense courses of oral and/or intravenous antibiotics. Many people with CF will need a lung transplant sooner or later, and recent figures suggest that half of all people with CF will not live past their 47th birthday.
The New Medicine
The good news is that there are new life-changing cystic fibrosis medicines that have been rolled out globally over the past few years, called ‘Kaftrio’ here in the UK. Kaftrio ‘corrects’ the faulty gene that causes the mucus build-up in the first place, dramatically improving lung function and increasing life expectancy. Follow this link for Tonia’s story, who was told she wouldn’t make it to 18 years old but last year celebrated her 50th birthday, thanks largely to Kaftrio: https://www.cysticfibrosis.org.uk/news/tonias-story-doctors-told-my-mum-that-i-wouldnt-see-18-last-year-i-turned-50
However, whereas Kaftrio works for 90% of people with CF in the UK (myself included), that leaves 10% who don’t have access to this life-saving drug, either because their specific genetic mutation is not compatible with Kaftrio or due to other reasons. The research to develop new medicines continues, in order to make sure that absolutely everyone with cystic fibrosis can have a new lease of life.
About The Show
My show WONDER DRUG : A Comedy about Cystic Fibrosis raises awareness not only of CF itself, but also of all of the issues I’ve detailed here - and more besides. The play takes as its core content a course of intravenous antibiotics I had for E. coli in June 2020, having to learn how to administer them myself at home as I was also shielding from COVID-19 at the time, a virus that people with CF are especially vulnerable to. This leads to another key theme of the play, a topic that isn’t talked about enough be it in terms of CF or otherwise: the relationship between physical and mental health. Lockdown was a difficult time for us all and especially those of us with CF; additionally, I had just started seeing someone, and I was worried about how my medical condition would come across to her.
But as the title suggests, there are laughs aplenty as I roll with the highs and lows of CF: my medicines come to life, high-profile visitors drop in, the audience gets involved in game-show sequences - and all the while, 80s bangers keep on coming...
How You Can Help
Your contribution will go towards WONDER DRUG’s prospective run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this August, the world’s largest arts and media festival. Your help will ensure that everyone involved in the show - director, designer, composer and many more - is paid fairly for their efforts to present this story to the public, as well as covering costs of rehearsals, performance venues and accommodation. It will also go towards spreading the word about the show, paying for marketing materials and their distribution.
Another crucial element of WONDER DRUG your help will contribute to is the online stream. People with cystic fibrosis cannot congregate due to the risk of cross-infection, but we must ensure that people with CF are able to see this show. For this reason, WONDER DRUG will be recorded and broadcast after the Fringe so that people who don’t feel comfortable coming to see the show are not barred from enjoying it.
Help us get WONDER DRUG: A Comedy about Cystic Fibrosis to the Pleasance Courtyard at the Edinburgh Fringe! It’s a show that brings cystic fibrosis to mainstream awareness, it’s a show that shines a light on what medical research can achieve, and above all, it’s a show that illustrates people are people first and foremost, with any other labels such as ‘disabled’ being secondary.
Thank you so much for reading.
Charlie
Further information about Kaftrio, the incredible new 'Wonder Drug':
Reviews of the show:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 'TED Talk meets stand-up gig meets quick-change show... It's wonderfully whimsical' - Liam O'Dell: https://liamodell.com/2023/02/16/wonder-drug-vault-festival-review-cystic-fibrosis-comedy-charlie-merriman-kings-head-theatre-leake-street-london-waterloo/
'The kind of theatre that makes us grateful to be alive' - The Prickle: https://theprickle.org/portfolio/wonderdrug-london-kings-head/
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