Review: My Mother’s Funeral, EdFringe

Summerhall, Roundabout

In times when we are all starting to feel the economic pinch, this new play by Kelly Jones raises some vitally important issues about what the costs of a funeral can be. Abigail (Nicole Sawyerr) is a freelance theatremaker, tight for cash at the best of times. Her mum has died and left very specific requests for her funeral arrangements. She wants to be buried in a casket with brass handles. She wants a big service with loads of mourners sobbing until they can’t breathe. But all this is going to cost in the region of £4,000, which Abby just doesn’t have. When a theatre producer turns down her current project and asks her to work on something else instead, she draws on her experience to write a play about her mum’s death, to raise the cash to bury her.

Summerhall’s Roundabout stage, in the round, works really well for this show, drawing out the sense of urgency and inexorability of the approaching funeral, and allowing the characters to buzz on and offstage disruptively. And the theme of performance is also emphasised by this set up, as Abigail is awkwardly given the microphone centre stage. Both theatremaker and eulogy-giver, this the only space where she has any power over her choices.

The play commendably covers a number of salient themes, dealing with the human impact of losing a loved one, the inequalities surrounding death, the familial frictions that can be raised, and the impact of turning personal tragedy into art. It’s a pretty comprehensive array of issues, all given good space and time to be aired.

This is dark and difficult subject matter, so it’s kind of understandable that Paines Plough would want to couch it in more palatable material, swamping the story in a heavily comedic style. The characters themselves, played by Samuel Armfield and Debra Baker alongside Sawyerr, demonstrate a variety of distinct types. Abigail herself is quite an anxious young playwright – working class made good, with a wry sense of humour and a determination to do what’s right for her mum. Armfield plays both a patronising theatre producer and the working class brother. Baker is the mum and the pretentious upper class actress playing the mum, as well as some smaller roles. They’re all very funny, but in an extremely caricatured way. And at times the compulsion to be funny means that the characters become stereotypes, which lessons the humanity of the performance.  Equally, whilst calling out the reinforcement of working class tropes, the play enacts the same thing, for instance by having the brother offer to ‘shit at the office’, or punch someone’s lights out. And that’s problematic, undercutting the intention.

My Mother’s Funeral is absolutely a very funny production, performed by a strong cast, so it’s going to appeal. I can’t help but think it would be more impactful if the comedy was pulled back a little, and the themes given a bit more space to be seen in their own right.

Written by Kelly Jones
Produced by Paines Plough

My Mother’s Funeral plays as part of the Edinburgh Fringe at Summerhall, Roundabout until 26 August. Further information and tickets available here.