Playwright/ director John Binnie has been a leading light in Scottish theatre for nearly 40 years. From his re-established Clyde Unity Theatre company, to writing the very first AIDS-related play (the poignant and beautiful KILLING ME SOFTLY, awarded at the 1985 Edinburgh Fringe Festival (where we first met and became friends), he has always been a writer to caringly uncover the poignant humanity pulsing within the authenticity of ordinary life.
Now his wide-ranging talents have lead to a film, written and directed by Binnie himself, entitled DAYS WITHOUT. Set during the first days of lockdown in 2020, Myrna, an elderly mum in a nursing home, and her middle-aged gay son Russ struggle with self-isolation in their own special ways.
Russ feels history repeating, recalling the AIDS pandemic of thirty years earlier and sees strong parallels between the suffering of his first love, Cal, and the impact of the current Covid pandemic on his mum’s well-being.
The film is written and directed by John Binnie, with Graham Crammond, Ann Scott Jones and Scott Miller. Director of photography was Kevin Walls, music by Tommie Travers, production design by Robin Mitchell, stage management by Linda Service, movement consultant Jane Simpson and dramaturgy by Mari Binnie.
The film was supported by Creative Scotland through National Lottery funding.
You can watch the film by clicking the link below.
