28 January - 15 February 2025
My Mother's Funeral: The Show
28 January - 15 February 2025
About
Want to bury your mum? That’ll be £4,000.
Abigail can't afford for her mum to be dead. No, really. It's four grand just for the funeral. Extra for flowers. Even more if you want sausage rolls.
And if you’ve got no money: a council plot and an unmarked grave.
The solution? Turn her grief into content. Write a play from her ‘unique working-class lens’. Package her dead mum into a nice neat story. Sell tickets.
Following a sell-out Fringe First winning run at the Edinburgh Fringe, Kelly Jones's razor-sharp new play rips into life’s final inequality and asks what happens when your loss becomes someone else's entertainment.
DATES & TIMES
28 January - 1 February
Tuesday - Saturday, 7:15pm
3 February -15 February
Monday- Saturday, 7:30pm
PREVIEWS*
28-29 January, 7:15pm
MATINEES
Every Saturday, 2:30pm
*Previews are a set of public performances that take place before the official opening of a production. Tickets for these nights are sold at a reduced rate.
HOW TO BOOK
ONLINE
Just click the 'BOOK NOW' button to purchase tickets online. A £1.50 booking fee will apply.
BOX OFFICE
You can book tickets over the phone, call us at 07756734172, Monday to Thursdays, 10am-5.30pm. A £2.50 booking fee will apply
WAYS TO SAVE
BOOK EARLY
Tickets start from £10 — the earlier you book tickets, the cheaper they will be.
FRONT YARD
All front row seats are £12 (£10 for preview performances). Same great view, no catch.
YARD CARD
Sign up for a free Yard Card – unlock discounts, exclusive news, freebies and for every third ticket bought, your fourth one is free.
NO EMPTY SEATS
If you’re aged 27 and under, you can get £5 tickets at the door to all performances that are not sold out.
CONCESSIONS
If you're aged 27 and under, 65+, a student or are unwaged, tickets are priced cheaper.
GROUP BOOKINGS
If you’d like to make a group booking (10+ tickets), email us.
ACCESS & SUITABILITY
ACCESS
Access tickets are priced as concessions and can be booked online. We offer free tickets for companions, and these must be booked by emailing marketing@theyardtheatre.co.uk
More info
SUITABILITY
Recommended for ages 14+
CONTENT GUIDANCE
This show contains strong language and references to bereavement.
This play deals with complex and difficult issues related to the death of a loved one, grieving, class, funerals, and funeral poverty.
We’ve compiled a list of mental health charities and support groups at this link, for anyone who has been affected by the issues raised in the play, click here.
Photography by Nicola Young
AWARDS
REVIEWS
“These are two weighty themes—grief and class war—but they are handled by Jones with a lightness of touch and a needling sense of humour.”
The Guardian
“A true highlight.”
A Young(ish) Perspective
“A warm, tender and at times deeply moving play”
The Stage
“A clever, funny, incisive look at money, class and theatre- as well as death.”
The Scotsman
“Sharp and very funny”
British Theatre Guide
“Incredibly witty and punchily crafted.”
WhatsOnStage
“It’s a gathering, tragicomic calamity which keeps the audience gripped to the last”
The Quinntessential Review
Cast & Team
Samuel Armfield
- Darren
Debra Baker
- Mum
Nicole Sawyerr
- Abigail
Photography by Nicola Young
A Paines Plough, Belgrade Theatre Coventry and Mercury Theatre Colchester production.
Originally produced by Paines Plough, Mercury Theatre, Belgrade Theatre, Landmark Theatres, and Royal & Derngate, Northampton.
My Mother’s Funeral: The Show was originally commissioned by the Mercury Colchester, enabled by a grant from the New Play Commission Scheme, a project set up by the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain, UK Theatre and the Independent Theatre Council, and funded by Arts Council England, the Theatre Development Trust and donations from actors, directors, playwrights and producers.
My Mother’s Funeral: The Show was developed with the support of the National Theatre’s Generate programme.
