The PlayFinder™

Adapted from the film directed by Ken Loach, written by Paul Laverty and produced by Rebecca O’Brien for Sixteen Films

THE STORY: Daniel Blake is your average middle-aged next-door neighbor—always willing to lend a hand or to tell you the proper rules for the communal cans when you take out your rubbish. A former tradesman, he has been sidelined due to heart issues and is now caught in a catch-22: He cannot receive relief without applying for employment but his doctor won’t clear him to work. While at the relief office, Daniel meets a young mother and daughter in dire straits, and he decides to help them after the government refuses to. This stage adaptation of the Palme d’Or and BAFTA–winning film of the same name highlights the hope and personal kindness of three people navigating a desperate situation with equal amounts of humor and despair, never losing their dignity or sense of who they really are.