★★★★★
Eilidh Loan’s follow up to Moorcroft, is a family drama about grief and a formidable matriarch. The eponymous Cathy, played to perfection by Elaine C. Smith is crushed by the loss of her husband Tommy. His absence creates a deep rift between Cathy and her family. The sparring of Cathy with her daughter Flo (Michele Gallagher), son-in-law Colin (Alan Orr) and her heavily pregnant granddaughter Amy (Chloe Hodgson), makes for an explosive opening. There’s a lot of comedy, with Cathy’s turn-of-phrase and belligerence, met with the antagonism of her family.
This comedy gives way to a meditation on mourning, and Cathy is lost. She is taken in by her granddaughter’s charity shop, helping out and trying to deal with the over-enthusiastic Lizzie (Sally Reid). It’s Cathy’s journey that is impressive. In this 70 minute play we follow her through the many stages of grief, and the reconciliation with the daughter.
It’s those moments of empathy amongst the heartbreak that brought tears to my eyes. The way Cathy in the midst of deep pain, can offer help to another vulnerable person, a customer in the charity shop.
Cathy may seem like an easy comedy on the surface, but there is a profound steak running through the production that makes it glow.
