One minute a man is calmly pacing up and down a Tube platform, waiting for his train like all the other passengers.
But the next moment he has jumped onto the track and under the wheels of the fast-approaching train 鈥 and there鈥檚 nothing anyone can do but watch in horror.
It鈥檚 a tragedy for all concerned, not least the train driver who has to try to come to terms with the traumatic death.
That鈥檚 what interested writer Stephanie Ridings when she set about creating the new play Unknown Male, which receives its premiere at Birmingham Rep next week.
Stephanie says: 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 want to write a play about why someone takes their own life. I was more interested in the effect it has on those who are implicated, especially if they are nothing to do with them.
鈥淚 started doing research and realised it has a real impact on the train drivers, some of whom never get back in the cab.
鈥淯nknown Male came about after I watched a documentary about the London Underground, which featured a 鈥榦ne under鈥.
鈥淲hat really got to me wasn鈥檛 seeing the footage of the man pacing the platform moments before he jumped, or seeing his shoe abandoned on the track. It was when they opened his wallet to identify him and saw it brimming with bank cards and receipts.
鈥淭hat made him very human and it really bothered me.
鈥淚 wanted to explore the ripple effect that such a suicide causes.
鈥淚s it a selfish thing to do? When there鈥檚 been a 鈥榦ne under鈥 on the Tube, the outpouring on Twitter is not very pleasant, as it鈥檚 all about how that death has inconvenienced hundreds of others.
鈥淭hen there鈥檚 the effect on the driver. If you are driving a car you can swerve if you see someone in the road, but there鈥檚 nothing a train driver can do except put on the brakes and wait, and it takes so long for a train to stop.
鈥淢any look down so they don鈥檛 see what happens.
鈥淏ut sometimes it happens so quickly, there鈥檚 no action to be taken. Tube trains come into stations at quite a speed and they often approach on a bend so the drivers can鈥檛 see.
鈥淲henever I use the Tube, I always make sure I stand at the far end of the platform, as far away from where someone might jump, because I don鈥檛 want to witness anything.
鈥淚鈥檓 aware this all sounds quite depressing, but the play really isn鈥檛. It鈥檚 about how real people cope with these things, and it鈥檚 about hope and keeping a sense of humour.鈥
The play stars Lorraine Stanley as the train driver Heather, Birmingham actor Ged Simmons as her partner Mark and Phoebe-Frances Brown as her daughter Emily, who is in the middle of her GCSEs.
Stephanie, 37, is originally from Blackpool and now lives in Kenilworth 鈥 鈥渨e don鈥檛 even have a train station, we have to go to Coventry!鈥 鈥 with her partner who works at Warwick Arts Centre.
Unknown Male is her second play and was created with help from the Rep Foundry.
Stephanie was part of the Rep鈥檚 first Foundry artist development programme, an initiative started by artistic director Roxana Silbert in 2013 to discover and nurture local writers and directors.
Her first play was called Me, Mum and Dusty Springfield, which was staged at the Edinburgh Festival and did a tour of Midland theatres.
She starred in the one-woman comedy, reflecting on the relationship with her mother and sprinkling a few of Dusty鈥檚 lyrics into the script.
But for Unknown Male, Stephanie takes a back seat and does not appear on stage.
鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 tempted to be in this at all,鈥 she says. 鈥淚鈥檝e reached the point where my enjoyment comes from writing and I don鈥檛 get the same satisfaction from performing as I used to.
鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 interest me, but writing does. The Rep Foundry has been instrumental in helping my writing. I was new to the area when I joined the programme so it was a massive help, letting me make friends and supporting my work.
鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 have asked for anything more.鈥
Stephanie鈥檚 next subject for a play is equally as hard-hitting and interesting.
鈥淚鈥檝e started to research the British women who marry men on death row in Texas. I have no idea why they might do that, but it happens quite a lot.鈥
Unknown Male runs at Birmingham Rep from January 28-31. For tickets ring 0121 236 4455 or go to birmingham-rep.co.uk.
