My Mother's Funeral

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 £4,000 for the funeral. Extra for flowers. And even more if you want sausage rolls. Otherwise, she'll get a council funeral and an unmarked grave. In her work as a playwright, Abigail has been asked to write about something raw, from her 'unique working-class lens'. Something that will make the audience feel gratifyingly bad about themselves. And so, to afford the funeral, she has to write about her mum. Kelly Jones's My Mother's Funeral: The Show playfully tackles the inequalities we face around death, and the cost of turning your loved ones into art. It was co-produced by Paines Plough; Mercury Theatre, Colchester; Belgrade Theatre, Coventry; Landmark Theatres and Royal & Derngate, Northampton - and premiered in 2024 at the Belgrade, before a UK tour including a run at Paines Plough's Roundabout at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where it won a Fringe First Award and a Summerhall Lustrum Award.