Ayr Gaiety play 'The Junkie Miracles' hopes to help remove stigma of addicts.
Written by Des Dillon, 'The Junkie Miracles' tells the stories of four drug addicts on the day they decided to get help.
A new play coming to the Gaiety theatre for one night only hopes to be part of a shift in attitude towards Scotland’s drug death crisis.
On it’s first and only night in the legendary theatre, ‘The Junkie Miracles’ tells the stories of four recovering addicts, the abyss in which they find themselves, and the experiences that finally shook them hard enough to get themselves into recovery.
Spearheaded by Des Dillon, the writer of the critically acclaimed ‘Singin I’m no a Billy, He’s a Tim’, the project started by speaking to four addicts spoke of their life story.
Des tells West FM that after the initial conversations with the addicts, the idea then grew arms and legs until it was adapted into a theatre play, with professional actors portraying the addicts themselves and the people around them during their time of addiction.
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He said: “I asked these people, to tell the worst day of their lives, the day they hit rock bottom and made them want to recover.
“So, these are four stories of people hitting that rock bottom, and eventually coming back out of that in some way or another. They aren’t all necessarily happy endings either.
“My whole writing career is about what some people would refer to as ‘underclasses’ and putting them on paper, on stage, on the TV. The people who are ignored and forgotten.”
The play comes at a time where Scotland finds itself in the middle of a drugs deaths crisis.
The Ayrshire and Arran health board area recorded 100 drug-related deaths in 2021, 106 in 2020, and 109 in 2019.
Des is hoping the stories told in ‘The Junkie Miracles’ can help get rid of an overbearing stigma in Scotland of what is known as ‘a junkie’ and change people’s attitudes of the person who is suffering.
He added: “I hope it expands people’s acceptance and empathy for other human beings who have fallen outside of the circle for what many consider to be ‘acceptable’ in life.
“These stories have been under-represented in Scotland, and only by telling them can we change the stigma.
Stories across the entire spectrum of Scotland need to be told. We can’t just dismiss people because their lives aren’t in agreement with the lives we lead.
“When it comes to addicts there is a strong sense of fear felt by people, and in some way, I hope this play can help alleviate that fear of ‘the junkie’ they pass on the street.
“Ultimately we need to realise that these people are human beings.”
The Junkie Miracles was created in partnership with Riverside Community Trust Ayr.
It comes to the Gaiety Theatre for one night only on Tuesday September 6, and you can find any available tickets here.