Lamesha Ruddock
A hilarious, sorrowful reality check into the American healthcare system, Citizen Otherplace is for anyone who holds dual citizenship to the kingdom of the well and the kingdom of the sick.
A patient is diagnosed and swept into the American healthcare money-making machine and hunted relentlessly by Mike, a medical debt collector. Accomplished yet sensitive, Citizen Otherplace exposes a system where fear is monetised, isolation is endorsed and trust disintegrates.
The phrase “the kingdom of the well and the sick” comes from Susan Sontag’s 1978 Illness as Metaphor, repositioning a sense of identity rooted in a shared responsibility to uphold a cycle of care supported and mourning the reality. The shooting of the healthcare CEO and the public reaction sit squarely in that bubbling-over anger. As we watch the NHS edge toward privatisation under our noses, the question becomes: are you angry enough?
Stacy Price is a seasoned, spritely performer, and a marvel as she multiroles. Megan, the receptionist, sets the clinical tone with arbitrary questions that decide whether you’re approved for surgery. The financial damnation is decided before we even enter the theatre: envelopes under each seat hold impending six-figure bills.
Price perfectly captures the mechanisms of capitalism in healthcare. She arrives as the doctor in a white coat and wheely chair, squeezing a blood pressure cuff with deadpan precision. When Mike appears, red and blue lighting and an action-powered sonic soundscape surround her. Price commands every second, from her unhinged Blonde illness to vulnerably asking for help into her hospital dress.
Stacy Price is fearless, and Citizen Otherplace is sharp, necessary satire.
Recommended Drink: A Diet Coke.
Performances of Citizen Otherplace have now concluded at EdFringe 2026.
