"He don’t do drugs. Nowt like that. He just. He really tries. I hope… This is a very big chance for him. I hope he doesn’t fuck things up this time. I hope he’ll be alright."
Midnight in Stockport, 1988. Rachel, eleven, and Billy, six, wait in the car in agitated excitement, chatting, fighting and dreaming of Disneyland. At her wits’ end, their mother is about to leave them for good. Their father, drunk in the flat above, has locked the door. This is a pivotal moment for the two children, the beginning a 13-year odyssey, growing up largely abandoned in the deprived suburban shadows of Manchester.
Despite an economic and political climate that pushes her into the very margins, Rachel, through sheer courage, looks to the future and opts for love, life and something better.
A richly colourful portrait of a town with the everyday writ large, Simon Stephens’ PORT is a celebration of the human spirit.
Showing at the National Theatre until 24 March 2013, book your PORT tickets today!
To view other events at, or from the National Theatre, please click here.