I love you Mum- I promise I won’t die

I’d had a conversation specifically with Dan about ecstasy. It’s one of the things you do as a parent, isn’t it? Wear your helmet when you’re out on your bike, you know, don’t take drugs. To be honest, I was more worried about him being safe on his bike than at a party with his friends.

The words of the title are the last ones spoken by sixteen-year-old Daniel Spargo-Mabbs to his mother. In January 2014, Daniel’s parents thought he was going to a friend’s house. He actually attended an illegal rave and later died after taking Mdma.

That fateful evening is told through the words of his school friends and family, divided into two hard-hitting acts in Mark Wheeller’s verbatim play.

I Love You, Mum – I Promise I Won’t Die was commissioned by the charity set up in Daniel’s memory to raise awareness about the danger of party drugs. It is a fast-paced, tragic, vibrant piece of verbatim theatre, which should engage teenage readers, audiences and performers alike.