EDINBURGH 2017: BWW Q&A- Cathy

Following it’s sell-out UK tour, world acclaimed homeless theatre company Cardboard Citizens’ four star hit play Cathy will be reprised this summer at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Here playwright Ali Taylor tells us about the play and why it should be on your list of must-see shows for your Edinburgh trip. 

Tell us a bit about Cathy.

This is Cardboard Citizens' theatrical update of Ken Loach's extraordinary film Cathy Come Home, showing a modern day Cathy battling the housing system. We follow Cathy from the day her landlord evicts her to hitting the brick wall of her local housing office and eventually to sofa surfing and the streets. It shows the strength of the human spirit and at its heart it's a tender love story between a mother and daughter.

What sets Cathy apart from other shows at the Fringe?

You will be asked for your suggestions about how we can help tackle the housing crisis. Because, for us, it's key to hear what audiences have to say at the end of the play. During the mini-forum (which will be a kind of theatre called Legislative Theatre], the audience will decide what changes need to be made to legislation. As the housing crisis affects everyone - from the extortionate rents they pay to the inflated cost of houses - we hope that audiences will give us more suggestions to take to government.

Why bring it to Edinburgh?

It's the first time for Cardboard Citizens in Edinburgh and it's really exciting that the work of this incredible company will be shown to an international audience. As for me, I've been coming to the Fringe for 20 years and I love it. But this is the first time I'll be coming up with a show. I'm stupidly excited because it was at the Fringe that I saw shows that had a big influence on my early plays. There's an addictive thrill to stepping off the beaten track and discovering that tiny new show by someone new that blows your mind.

Who would you recommend Cathy to?

I hope everyone will find something in this play that resonates with them. I think it particularly speaks to parents because it asks 'how far would you go to do the best for your child?'

Is the staging different for Edinburgh?

Lucy Sierra designed an amazing set for the tour, which included huge Jenga-inspired blocks the cast interact with throughout. We'll go back into rehearsals in July for the show and see then if the design will work for our new Edinburgh venue, but it will likely be very similar. We're really used to adapting the show for a huge range of spaces - every theatre on our 2016-2017 tour was different, not to mention how adaptable we had to be when playing in hostels and prisons when the company could be performing in anything from a community space to a prison chapel, so it was designed with that in mind.

Timings and ticket information for Cathy can be found on the Pleasance website here.

Photo credit: Pamela Raith