The story is a play written by Brian Clark. It is first presented by Ray Cooney, at the Mermaid Theatre, London, on the 6th March 1978.
It’s about a man called Ken who was involved in a car accident, and paralyzed as a course of it. Before the accident he was a well-educated artist who made sculptures. He had a great sense of humor, and had a lively life.
His brain still fully works. But the doctors are not seeing him as fully stabilized yet. When he stabile, he will be transferred to a long-stay hospital, where he should stay to the day he dies.
The entire play takes place in a hospital in London, where different doctors are taking care of him. He has been there for four month.
Ken has a good heart, which for example is showed when he breaks up with his girlfriend. He still loves her, but realizes that he never will be able to touch her, and give her the things she wants. She is a young beautiful woman, and he won’t let her stop live her life because of his situation. Ken can’t see any reason for her to live differently from others.
Ken won’t sit back and wait to die in the hospital, and live like a vegetable for the rest of his life. He has to much dignity for that. Therefore he makes a decision. He wants the doctors to stop feeding him and stop helping him, so that he will die. He is not asking the doctors to helping him die, but he wants them to step helping him live.
The doctor’s thinks it’s a very bad idea and won’t let it happened. Especially some doctors are against, they thinks it legal incorrect.
He has some friends at the hospital who thinks it’s his own choice, they want the best for him even though it’s sad, death is the only opportunity.
Here starts a long case about ken’s destiny, whether he should be allowed to be discharged or not.
Before the judge can make the decision, Ken has to talk to the psychiatrist of the hospital who will determine whether he is mental stabile or suffering from a