Anybody Here
This drama chronicles the lives of 5 teenage patients in an Adolescent Psychiatric Institution as they put on their own theatre play.
It’s a window into the lives of doctors, patients, and parents – and inside their souls. But it’s also our story, because these kids - are a high volume version of us.
Playwright Roy Chen wrote the play following 6 months of research in a Psychiatric Hospital. The result blends dark humor with wit and sincerity, and creates a world which is both poetic and raw.
Anybody Here celebrates the healing power of theatre in the hopes of raising the bar of compassion ever so slightly.
The play was translated into English, Italian, German, Russian and Hungarian.
The productions based on the play have a huge success at the Gesher Theatre (Tel Aviv, 2020) and at the Franco Parenti Theatre (Milan, 2024).
“A life lesson, rare to find. Anybody Here is an emotional, passionate and
thoughtful story. It is the authentic sense of theatre which, not surprisingly,
has a central meaning in the story told itself. Long final applause.”
Massimiliano Beneggi, Teatro e Musica news
**️*** “Anybody Here bewitches the spectators in what is more than a theatrical
show, it is a moving and profound immersion in the sharing of a human
experience.”
Gianfranco Previtali Rosti, Corriere dello spettacolo
**️*** The strength of this text is certainly in the perfect balance of drama with the
comic, and even the grotesque. We laugh a lot and have fun, even though
it is anything but a light story.
Paolo Martini, dramaholic.it
**️*** “A more powerful scenic metaphor for the need for theater could not have
been found, underlining its existential and, even, spiritual therapeutic value.
Danilo Caravà, Milano Teatri
**️*** “A stunning, fascinating and moving production. All five young actors give
incredibly raw and true performances. FIVE STARS”
YEDIOT AHARONOT Daily Newspaper
**️*** “A touching production that shakes you up, with painful and tender moments,
alongside comic reliefs.”
CALCALIST Newspaper
Characters (3 teenage girls, 2 teenage boys, 2 women, 2 men)
THE CHILDREN
ALMA suffers from bi-polar disorder, dreams of becoming a psychiatrist.
BARAK suffers from Oppositional Defiant Disorder and fits of rage, dreams of becoming an actor.
EMANUEL is on the autistic spectrum, has incredible memory skills, dreams of being stupid.
TAMARA/TOM F2M, dreams of looking the way he feels.
BAT-SHEVA is an orthodox Jew, hears voices inside her head, dreams of becoming a lion.
THE STAFF
DR. YORESH the head of the Juvenile psychiatric ward in the “Bright Lights” psychiatric hospital.
Naama the new drama teacher, struggles with an eating disorder from her past.
THE PARENTS
played by the same two actors
Shira & Yoav, Alma’s parents, educated, wealthy, divorced
David & Riki, Barak’s parents, own a grocery store
Gaby & IRIT, Gabriel’s parents, live in an empty house
MORDECHAI, Bat-Sheva's father, an orthodox Jew from a closed community
IRINA, Tamara’s mother, born in St. Petersburg, former ballerina
The play was produced in 2019 and still runs in Gesher theatre, Tel-Aviv, Israel.
"Chi Come Me" has been published in Italian by Giuntina publishing house (2023).
An extract from the play
Translated from Hebrew
SCENE 4:
THE CONTRACT
YORESH. May I ask you to roll up your sleeve, please.
ALMA. Did you not hear about “Me Too”, Dr. YORESH?
YORESH. Alma…
(Alma Rolls up her sleeve to reveal the new cuts on her wrist.)
ALMA. I cheated myself. Like I knew I would. I told you I was trouble; you know that I’m no good.
YORESH. You are good.
ALMA. Oh, please, it’s Amy Winehouse! (Starts singing) “I cheated myself…”
YORESH. I thought you knew that if you keep cutting, I’ll lower your status.
ALMA. Yeah, and…?
YORESH. You kept cutting.
ALMA. Yeah, and…?
YORESH. I’ll have to lower your status.
ALMA. Yeah, and…?
YORESH. And you won’t be allowed to participate in the show.
ALMA. Who cares? I don’t want to participate in this life, and you’re threatening me with a show?
YORESH. Alma, this is not your first time here.
ALMA. Third.
YORESH. You’re an incredibly intelligent girl.
ALMA. And he is attempting a new strategy… Shameless flattery, but will it work? Alas! It fails miserably!
YORESH. You said the new meds were good for you.
ALMA. Well they’re not! Did anybody here even notice they made me stop being me?
YORESH. I would like to offer you to sign a contract.
ALMA. A contract?
YORESH. A contract. Between you and yourself. I have no part in it, I’m just a witness. You commit before Alma, not to cut. And you can add a clause that specifies the number of days you think you can handle it.
ALMA. Why would I sign this?
YORESH. Because I want you to get out of here.
ALMA. Because you hate me.
YORESH. I don’t hate you, and you know that…
ALMA. Why do you want me to get out then? When you love someone you keep them close. Don’t you?
YORESH. You once told me you want to be a psychiatrist when you grow up.
ALMA. I changed my mind. I’m not gonna grow up.
YORESH. Alma, You feel like this place is your home and it’s not I think that out there, there’s a whole world just waiting for you!
ALMA. A whole world of arseholes.
YORESH. Well, maybe one of these arseholes could have been less of an arsehole if someone would have seen him on time, and listened to him.
ALMA. That’s lovely! You know what? Let me give you the number of the man who raped me when I was 13, so you’d be able see him and listen to him for a bit.
YORESH. I mean, I think you have the ability to listen to people, to teach them, to save them.
ALMA. What if I don’t want to? What if I just want to stop. Please. I don’t wanna be here anymore. I want to die.
YORESH. Then I’m afraid I’m gonna try and stop you.
ALMA. Where do you get the audacity to try and stop a person with an astute mind who wants to die?
YORESH. Where? From experience. Many smart girls sat here before me. None like you, but very smart. They promised they’d kill themselves. Promised! But they didn’t. A week, a month, even a year later, they found meaning in their lives. Ok, they don’t walk around with a smiley face all the time, but they’re alive. Some started a family, some make art. One of them, for example, does amazing work with kids on the autism spectrum.
ALMA. (She grabs the ‘contract’ page and starts writing.) “I, Alma, commit before myself, not to cut. For…”
YORESH. It can be three days, Even two. I mean, it’s just an internal agreement we make with ourselves.
ALMA (takes out another coin for him.) Again with therapy-bull? Don’t spend it all at once. (she throws the contract in his face and leaves.)
