Set in a seaside hotel of halcyon childhood summers, this autobiographical play by award-winner Jane Upton journeys back to find a beloved Nana before she forgot who she was. Finding Nana was first seen at the Pleasance Courtyard at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2017, and now embarks on a tour of village halls and theatre studio spaces. Stacey Evans (Wolves are Coming for You, Pentabus) stars in this one-woman show.
‘Room 17. Four walls full of lipstick, laughter, hairspray and Horlicks. Nana is nut brown and wrinkled and she has chicken fillets for arms. And she treats me like I’m way more amazing than I actually am.’ Based on writer Jane Upton’s personal experience, Finding Nana is a one-woman show about the universal, unconditional love between a granddaughter and her Nana and the ugly truth of losing it all.
In selected areas, audiences will be invited to a workshop to share their own thoughts and feelings on the special relationships between grandparent and grandchild. The stories they impart will form a bespoke ‘Act Two’ to the performance.
Jane Upton is an East Midlands based writer who won the George Devine Award in 2016 for All The Little Lights (Arcola and UK tour). Her other plays include Watching the Living (UK tour), Swimming (Soho Theatre and Edinburgh Festival Fringe) and Bones (Edinburgh Fringe Festival and UK tour).
She said, “This play has a piece of my heart in it. It’s a tale of love and loss and what it means to live, I think, and the crippling fear of forgetting. It’s a tribute to that specific and amazing relationship you can only really share with a beloved grandparent. I’m so happy and grateful to be sharing our story because I’m sure so many people will relate.”
