Aim: The aim was to interpret the interplay between critically ill patients and their next of kin in an ICU to understand the visiting situation. Method: A hermeneutic research design with non-participant observation was chosen as the data collection method. Ten observations of 10 patients and 24 loved ones over a 20 hour period were conducted. The text describing the observations of the interplay was interpreted in accordance with Gadamer. Data were analysed by considering the text as a play with scenes, actors and plots. Results: The interpretation of the scenes revealed two themes describing the patient’s interplay and six themes describing the next of kin’s interplay. The understanding of the plot concerns people who had entered a situation where normal everyday life was disconnected. The path from health to illness was a totally unfamiliar environment and perception of life, where the body constituted a new and unknown world. As a result of the fact that the patients were unable to use their bodies in the usual way, which sends different signals to their loved ones, who in turn have difficulty deciding how to respond. Both parties become trapped or locked out by their own bodies. Conclusion: A hindrance to the interplay could be the room, which was designed for medical and technical use and thus did not promote healing. The professionals were crucial for interpreting the signals from both patients and next of kin, as well as for finding caring strategies, such as physical contact, that promote interplay, which in turn create a caring and healing atmosphere.