The Audience

Jane Mason is 42, single and disabled. She's been struggling with a dilemma for more than a decade: should she adopt a child on her own? Jane has a degenerative condition, lives alone and feels there is something missing in her life. She has always longed for a child and wonders if now is the right time to adopt. Is it fair on the child and, with her disability, will she cope? An audience of strangers help Jane resolve her dilemma. They soon discover that Jane has a tough exterior. But their astute and piercing questions penetrate her defence and they realise Jane's dilemma is tied up with her lack of self-confidence, and feelings of loneliness and loss. The audience force Jane to confront some of her deep-rooted issues and to talk openly, for the first time in her life, about the problems she has faced. Contentious and heart wrenching, Jane's time with the audience is revealing, confrontational and sometimes funny.

Two years ago Kathy Rawlings and her family bought The Drove Inn pub in Cumbria but the business is now struggling and the pressure is tearing the family apart. Can a group of strangers help them decide if they should sell the pub or try to make it work? At first many of the audience think the solution is a Ramsay-style makeover. But after one day with the Rawlings things just don't add up. The audience search for clues in the local community, but it's not long before they uncover the real truth and it's much closer to home. Suddenly they are faced with a family on the brink: an affair, secrets and lies all rise to the surface. The audience's time with the Rawlings is shocking, revelatory, emotional and unforgettable.

Ami-Li Chase is a 25-year-old glamour model who lives in London. She has a tough exterior but is unhappy with her life and needs help with a dilemma: whether to quit modelling and change direction in her life. At first many members of the audience dismiss Ami-Li's dilemma as trivial and make sharp judgments about her life. But their persistent questioning and hunger to uncover some truths about Ami-Li open a Pandora's box of emotions she has kept buried for years. They discover a sensitive young woman who has faced the loss of her father and a stillborn baby in recent years, and who is struggling to get things into perspective, grieve and take brave steps to find happiness. Ami-Li's emotionally-charged time with the audience is heart-warming and, like most of the 50 strangers who spend the week with her, it's hard to not be touched by the impassioned conclusion.