Theatre Review: Finding Nana

Words: Sarah Newall
Tuesday 13 February 2018
reading time: min, words

Nana… Gran… Granny. If you are blessed enough to have been truly loved by a grandparent, you will delight in this drama.

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Nana… Gran… Granny. If you are blessed enough to have been truly loved by a grandparent, you will delight in this drama.

Finding Nana is a bitter sweet treat with a tenderness which can’t fail to bring back your own memories of that special love which runs so deep.

Writer Jane Upton’s autobiographical play takes us through her memories of love, loss and a very real journey of accepting what is left when the person we love is snatched away.

When sharply written monologue meets tremendously talented acting - the magic begins - and playing Jane, Stacey Evans gives a powerfully engaging performance which left me laughing out loud, swiftly followed by having to stop myself weeping in a hump.

Treasured memories of holidaying with Nana on the Isle of Wight are boldly relived, alongside the devastation of dementia. The play examines what love is to us, the pain of letting go and the desolation of accepting that sometimes things will never be the same again.

This is beautifully directed by Katie Posner and there is haunting use of light and sound.

Look out for more from Jane Upton, joint winner of the George Devine Most Promising Playwright Award 2016, she is quite simply brilliant, and her writing is raw, naked and honest, striking a chord with anyone who has a heart that beats.

Finding Nana was at Nottingham Playhouse from Wednesday 7 to Saturday 10 February 2018.

Nottingham Playhouse website

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