don’t forget the birds
PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR – Journal Culture Awards
I sucked in the cold air, looked at the big sky and it was like being reborn.
Filmed by Pilot Live, don’t forget the birds is available to watch online as part of the 16 Days of Activism to End Violence Against Women and Girls. Click HERE to book your ticket and watch between 25 November and 10 December 2021.
★★★★ The Stage – “Tender, honest, superbly performed show by real life mother and daughter about life after prison”
★★★★ The Guardian – “A touching portrait of a mother-daughter bond”
A true story performed by real-life mother and daughter, Cheryl & Abigail Byron.
At the end of Open Clasp’s award-winning drama Key Change, four women walk towards the prison gates. The sun is shining, their families are waiting. don’t forget the birds is the true story of what happened next for one of the original collaborators on Key Change, now released and working with Open Clasp Theatre Company. This first-hand account tells how prison took a mother from a daughter and their heart lifting journey to find each other again.
Written by Catrina McHugh MBE
Directed by Laura Lindow
“I interviewed Cheryl and her daughter in 2016. Both told their story of what happened next when the prison gates opened. don’t forget the birds is told from their own personal viewpoint and not only what happened next, but of life before prison and its impact on them both…don’t forget the birds is a story of survival, strength and hope for those wanting to make change a reality. In 1998 our first play After Her Death was about mothers and daughters, so this is a special production as we celebrate 20 years of Open Clasp. It is a total honour to work with this real-life mother and daughter. ” Catrina McHugh MBE, Writer and Artistic Director of Open Clasp
don’t forget the birds was originally developed through a seed commission with Queen’s Hall Arts and Black Theatre Live.
Photographs by Phyllis Christopher
