‘Granny’s Dead’: Live wake to pop up in suburban home for seaside town’s grief festival
Wednesday 2 October ’24
Be part of a live Irish-style wake in a living room in Weston-super-Mare, as part of Good Grief Weston, a festival of love and loss coming to the seaside town this month (10 – 13 October).
With humour and a light touch, people are invited to Granny Jackson’s wake where they’ll meet a motley crew of her friends and relations. The unfolding drama – featuring a local resident starring as Granny herself! – will take place at a house in Graham Road in Weston.
Expect home truths, twists, turns, and of course, tea in a delightfully dysfunctional family function, that includes local artists performing with the Big Telly Theatre company for the Weston shows.
As part of this unique, immersive experience, audiences will meet the family, help make the tea and be offered a VR headset which brings Granny Jackson (who was a bit of a wild ticket!) back from the grave, dancing merrily into the centre of her own Wake.
Join the drama, as tradition collides with 21st Century technology, and Granny Jackson’s family clash over the coffin. Should they let her spirit go free, or preserve her digital footprint – and might Granny’s voice have a say in the matter beyond the grave?
Big Telly’s critically-acclaimed performance Granny Jackson’s Dead creatively explores how new digital technologies can influence the way we memorialise and remember loved ones.
Tickets to the Weston shows from 10 – 13 October, are pay-what-you-decide from £5. Book at Super Culture Events.
Thursday and Friday evening audiences are also invited to a post-performance gathering at Weston’s Fork ’n’ Ale pub where they can raise a glass to Granny and chat over any thoughts the show raised.
Fiona Matthews, Creative Director at Super Culture said: “21st Century technology brings a whole new dimension to the notion of ‘voices from beyond the grave’. It’s fair to say that Granny Jackson’s family are at somewhat different ends of the digital spectrum and do not agree on how best to grieve and memorialise their beloved matriarch. Come along to Granny’s wake, and see whether it’s ashes, pixels or something else entirely that holds meaning for you.”
Zoe Seaton, Artistic Director of Big Telly Theatre Company, added: “We’re delighted to be working with three local artists, weaving Weston into the family tree and embedding the story in the local landscape. Why did Granny Jackson end up in Graham Road, who really owns the house and what’s it got to do with the Blitz?”
Good Grief Weston 2024 is a programme of activities and events across North Somerset that aim to open up conversations around death and bereavement, with honesty, compassion, joy and sometimes with humour.
The festival is produced by Super Culture in collaboration with the University of Bristol and the Weston-super-Mare Community Network, as part of the national Coastal Community & Creative Health project.
For further information and full event line-up, visit Good Grief Weston and follow @SuperCultureWsM for latest updates.