Jane Upton

Playwright Jane Upton has taken her experiences of motherhood and included them in a new play, (the) Woman. Nottinghamshire company New Perspectives is touring the play which will also have a five-week run in London. Midlands editor Steve Orme spoke to Jane Upton and New Perspectives artistic director Angharad Jones about the play and how it was conceived. (the) Woman is on tour until 15 March and will be at London’s Park Theatre from 24 September until 25 October 2025.

Finding Nana is set in a seaside hotel of childhood summers. This autobiographical play by Jane Upton, joint winner of the George Devine Most Promising Playwright Award 2016, journeys back to find a beloved Nana before she forgot who she was. Following hit plays Bones, Swimming and All the Little Lights, Finding Nana is about the universal, unconditional love between a granddaughter and her Nana and the desperate need to capture memories before they disappear.

From a hill on the outskirts of the city, Lisa (Sarah Hoare), Joanne (Tessie Orange-Turner) and Amy (Esther-Grace Button) watch all the little lights illuminating the facades of the buildings, imagining the lives of the people behind them. For a moment, Joanne and Amy are in thrall to Lisa’s narrative powers, as she gives them a glimpse into the lives of others, and a temporary break from their own.