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 infoRUNNING TIME
70 minutes with no interval.
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.
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.
Photography by Nicola Young
WRAPAROUND EVENTS
GRIEF MIXER LDN
Tuesday, 4 February
Free, with a ticket to the show that evening
Join Paines Plough at The Yard Theatre for a grief mixer.
An intimate post-show talk with Charlotte Bennett (director of My Mother’s Funeral: The Show and Joint AD of Paines Plough), Naomi Westerman (writer of Happy Death Club: Essays on Death, Grief & Bereavement), and Ruth Arnold (an Independent Civil Celebrant) to bring together the grieving and death positive communities.
Together, we’ll reflect upon the themes of My Mother’s Funeral: The Show, and open up a space for like-minded and like-feeling people.
WRITERS NIGHT
Thursday 6 February
Free, with a ticket to the show
Writing can be lonely work. Join us after My Mother's Funeral: The Show for a candid conversation about craft, community and the current state of new writing.
With Charlotte Bennett (Joint Artistic Director, Paines Plough), Titilola Dawudu (Associate Dramaturg, Bush Theatre), Dilek Latif (Senior Producer, Brixton House) and Jay Miller (Artistic Director, The Yard Theatre).
Together, we'll explore writing from lived experience, unpack what writers and organisations need from each other, and create space for honest dialogue about the future of theatre writing. This is a chance to connect with fellow writers and key new writing organisations, share challenges, and build community.
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
SUPPORT
My Mother’s Funeral: The Show by Kelly Jones 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 below, for anyone who has been affected by the issues raised in the play.
If you need immediate support, or would just like someone to chat to, Samaritans offer a 24/7 helpline across the UK – call 116123 for free.
If you prefer to text, the UK also has a free 24/7 service: just text SHOUT to 85258.
Ashes to Admin by Evie King, tales from the Caseload of a Council Funeral Officer
A Heart That Works by Rob Delaney
More people in England being buried or cremated by councils, survey finds.
BBC Radio 4: We Need to Talk About Death
Joan Bakewell and a panel of experts discuss death and dying, exploring the choices open to us and confronting the questions we fear the most.
BBC The Bottom Line: The cost of dying
On final farewells, and how the death industry works.
Bereavement Help & Support on GOV.UK website
Cruse Bereavement Support to learn more about the grieving process.
National Bereavement Service for ways to manage grief.
The Good Grief Trust for support if you are newly bereaved.
Down to Earth – Quaker Social Action offer practical support and advice about funeral costs.
The Marie Curie helpline for ongoing support over the phone.
Sue Ryder’s Online Bereavement Support includes an online community to talk to others who are grieving, a video chat counselling service and personalised grief support by text message
AtaLoss for free live chat with a bereavement counsellor.
Coffin Club UK offers support, advice and courses about funeral costs and celebrants.
Dying Matters Week – Hospice UK works to create an open culture in which we’re comfortable talking about death, dying and grief.
Death Cafe are organised meet-ups around the world for people to drink tea, eat cake and discuss death. Their aim is to increase awareness of death to help people make the most of their (finite) lives.
Let’s Talk About Loss UK a safe space to talk through taboos and address the reality of losing someone close to you when you are young.
