My Dead Nan’s Box Room | Up Next Festival 26

Friday 27th March

9:00pm

Part of a double bill

“A death like no other”

A dead nan. A council flat. And a bunch of George Michael paraphernalia. This one-woman show and dark comedy explores against the backdrop of the pandemic and its political climate.

This play gives a voice to those who lost their lives during COVID and the bereaved families’ injustice from the government. It looks at death with a humorous gaze and the universal emotions associated with grief. This one-woman show explores the questions: have we really moved on from lockdown? The effect it had, and when people want to move on, some are still stuck there.

It’s March 2020. Boris has announced the UK’s first lockdown. Sophie has been given the reluctant task of sorting out all her nan’s belongings, who has recently died. Cassandra, late 50s, a mix between Elton John and Madge from Benidorm, a never-ending parrot on caffeine with a light gambling addiction. Her flat is full of old tut and questionable, outdated belongings, alongside her stash of George Michael memorabilia; it all has to be gotten rid of. Then lockdown happens. Sophie is left to navigate the grief as the isolation takes its toll and begins to dissect her childhood.

We follow Sophie as she deals with the loss of her nan by ranting about Boris, Eat Out to Help Out, and the all-important, crucial Clap for Carers. It explores the hatred she has towards Joe Wicks and his workouts, COVID tests, and funerals. Sophie discusses the pandemic — the slow burn that turned into the Big Bang, the worst possible scenario. Sophie dissects Boris’s comments, including the infamous “COVID was nature’s way of dealing with old people.” Sophie watches the events unfold from the tiny council flat, and as things escalate in the outside world, things become overwhelming for Sophie as she starts to become obsessive.

 

@moll_hann