15 Sep AWARD-WINNING PLAY MY MOTHER’S FUNERAL: THE SHOW TO BEGIN PERFORMANCES NEXT WEEK AT THE MERCURY THEATRE
The Mercury Theatre in Colchester will welcome next week the Fringe First award-winning My Mother’s Funeral: The Show in the Mercury’s Studio from 17-21 September. The play, which had an acclaimed run at this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe, has been written by Kelly Jones, an alumnus of the Mercury’s talent development programme, which supports creatives with structured mentoring, masterclasses, networking and peer development opportunities.
“Made the audience laugh and cry.’
★★★★★ Edinburgh Reviews
Kelly Jones’ new play My Mother’s Funeral: The Show, a Paines Plough co-production with Mercury Theatre, Belgrade Theatre, Landmark Theatres and Royal & Derngate Northampton, will run in the Mercury’s Studio from 17-21 September. The play, which received a Fringe First Award during its Edinburgh run, is directed by Paines Plough’s Joint Artistic Director, Charlotte Bennett, with the cast comprising of Samuel Armfield, Debra Baker and Nicole Sawyerr.
“Incredibly witty and punchily crafted.”
★★★★ WhatsonStage
Abigail’s mum is dead. But it turns out she can’t afford her to be.
Did you know how expensive it is to die? It’s £4000 for the funeral. Extra for flowers. And even more if you want sausage rolls. Otherwise, she will get a council funeral and an unmarked grave.
Then, when a theatre suddenly pulls out of Abigail’s new project, she is asked to write about something else. Something more raw, from her ‘unique working class lens.’ Something that will make the audience feel really, really bad about themselves. Audiences like that, apparently.
Yep. To afford the funeral, she has to write about her mum.
With power and playfulness, Kelly Jones’s new play tackles the inequalities around death, and the cost of turning your loved ones into art.
“A warm, tender and at times deeply moving play.”
★★★★ The Stage
Dilek L. Latif, Senior Producer, Mercury Theatre, says:
“We’re delighted that My Mother’s Funeral: The Show had such a successful run at the Edinburgh Fringe and can’t wait for it to arrive at our Studio. It is a testament to our Mercury Playwrights talent development scheme where we’re committed to supporting local playwrights and developing their work from page to stage. There is so much creative talent in the East and we love to think of the Mercury’s Studio as a home for local artists.”
Tickets for both productions are on sale at www.mercurytheatre.co.uk
