Paines Plough announce show they are bringing to the Fringe in their 50th year

As the touring theatre company Paines Plough reach their half century they have announced the show which they will bring to Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August.

Kelly Jones’ My Mother’s Funeral: The Show will be premiered in Coventry in July before coming to Edinburgh and then playing to audiences elsewhere in the UK. The play explores different approaches to trauma stories and asks if death is unifying then why are we not all afforded the same dignity? The play is directed by Charlotte Bennett and co-produced by Paines Plough, Mercury Theatre, Belgrade Theatre, Landmark Theatres, and Royal & Derngate, Northampton.

This year Paines Plough celebrates 50 years of supporting “ground-breaking, innovative and thrilling new writing”. The touring theatre company develops and produces playwrights and has commissioned more than 500 writers and developed and produced more than 400 plays since its inception in 1974. 

Katie Posner and Charlotte Bennett, Joint Artistic Directors of Paines Plough said: “This year is a landmark year for Paines Plough as we turn 50 at a time where we remain one of the last subsidised new writing touring theatre companies in the UK. With programming priorities being forced to shift and costs increasing, the landscape for new writing is more challenging than it has ever been.

“In this context, we’re proud to even be here to talk about a fiftieth year, and to continue to be an advocate, a voice and a thriving platform for writers and the future of new writing around the country. Our fiftieth year will be about future-proofing our longstanding commitment to writers, who remain at the beating heart of everything we do.

“We will move to our new home in Coventry, previewing our thrilling new play by Kelly Jones there as a ‘see it first’ opportunity for Coventry audiences, before it transfers to Edinburgh Fringe Festival. We can’t wait to also welcome the return of last year’s runaway success Strategic Love Play, and continue with our Tour the Writer and writers-on-attachment activity; all of which supports new, bold, brilliant work to be created, just as the company has done in the last 50 years, and which we intend to do in the 50 years to come. Thank you for being part of that journey with us, and we hope you’ll join us for the celebrations throughout the year!”