Four people arrive to work the night shift in a meat factory. They meet for the first time. They are employed as cleaners, by a temp agency. They are all on zero-hours contracts.


Every shift, they clean. Every four hours, they take a break. They drink tea or coffee together. They read magazines. They chat. As it gets light, they go home, or to another job. The cycle goes on. And on. Strangers. Until something stirs, until isolated people get too close to one another, too fast.

Through investigation, first-hand experience and with the involvement of people working on zero-hours contracts, the World Premiere of Alexander Zeldin’s brutally honest and darkly humorous play Beyond Caring exposes stories of an invisible class.

Queen’s Yard, Hackney Wick, E9, until Saturday, July 26. Details: theyardtheatre.co.uk