The Cat’s Mother by Erica Murray was written as part of the Soho Theatre’s Young Writers Lab and longlisted for the Verity Bargate Award. It follows two sisters – Sinead and Ciara from County Clare – as they struggle to decide what to do about their mother’s debilitating, undignified dementia.

The set had to allow scenes in Ciara’s personality-less flat to change immediately to exterior scenes, a pret a manger, a spiritual healer’s room, among others. LED lights surrounding the cream carpeted floor enhancing the claustrophobia of being caught in a situation that there seems no escape from without drastic action, the imposing leaning walls, abstracted from the dimensions of a cat cage with the small door giving the impression we are watching humans as animals, the pink a nod to the feminine nature of the content and characters.

The Cat’s Mother was part of The Vaults Festival in Waterloo, London.

Produced by Wildcard Theatre

Director: Jackie Fisher

Costume Design: Hannah Hodge

Photography Ciara Murnane