Sonny, 18, is a vegetarian who has always been concerned about the environment and animal rights. He's just got a Saturday job on the Pussy Cat Van, a cat rescue operation, and believes strongly that it is wrong to experiment on animals. His sister Anita, 21, the academic one of the family, is a carnivorous scientist completely convinced that using animals in medical research is justified. Their mum Lina's chances of having a love life initially depend on getting them to be civil to each other at, of all places, the dinner table. The guest of honour will be her prospective new boyfriend Raz, a painter and decorator whose newfound Buddhist spirituality gives him an interesting take on the whole debate. As the gripping family drama unfolds, Sonny's future plans, and his principles, are put to the test, when his health takes a turn for the worse..."Every Breath" is a new play by award winning playwright, Judith Johnson that explores the serious social, moral, scientific and political questions raised by the use of animals in medical research. It is a Y-touring production touring in UK schools from March 2006.
The performance will be followed by a live debate during which the students will be encouraged to explore what they think and feel about the issues posed by the drama. The play has been specifically designed to be a valuable cross-curricular learning tool with particular relevance to the Science (particularly the new 'Twenty First Century Science' curriculum being developed by the Nuffield institute in partnership with OCR), Drama, English, PSHE/Citizenship and R.E. curricula. "Every Breath" is targeted at students at KS4 and above (Aged14+).