Preview: She Called Me Mother

As part of Black History Month, Trinity presents this new play by Pitch Lake Productions. Meet Evangeline Gardner: a homeless, 70-year-old African-Caribbean woman, who finds herself living on the streets and searching for her estranged daughter Shirley. 

Starring BAFTA and Golden Globe nominee Cathy Tyson, best known for her stage work with the RSC and the Liverpool Everyman and on film in Mona Lisa (1986), the play is written in poetic Trinidadian vernacular. Here’s writer Michelle Inniss to tell us more.

Tell us how this emotive story came together in your mind. 
Evangeline Gardner’s character was inspired by a homeless woman I spoke to over a period of a year. She sold The Big Issue at London Bridge station. Instead of calling her aunty, which is a mark of respect for an elder in the Afro-Caribbean community, I unwittingly called her mother. Her eyes lit up and she smiled. Each time I saw her and we talked she wanted to give me something; a box of sweets or, when my own mother passed away, £3 to buy flowers. I bought a single white rose from a flower stall beneath the arches.
I wondered what had come before this point in this woman’s life. I asked myself what had brought her to this place. Where were her loved ones, her family? I created the character of Evangeline and through her imagined life she has begun to answer these questions for me. 

Tell us about the Trinidadian dialogue. Will audiences find it accessible? Lyrical?
For me the Trinidadian vernacular has an almost melodic quality. My parents are from Trinidad, so that voice is well situated within me. I think that, whether or not they are familiar with the vernacular, audiences will delight in the richness of Evangeline’s language. Also, Cathy’s portrayal of Evangeline is quite simply captivating.

What thoughts and feelings do you hope to send audiences away with?
Our vision is for Evangeline’s voice to be heard. We want, through her story, to awaken your humanity, to take you on a walk through her life and at the end of her journey, we would like to leave you seeking answers to some unasked questions. Why is homelessness accepted as a normal part of our society? How can we change this?

“We are going into territory that hasn’t been explored on our stages before,” says your director, Cara Nolan. What sort of territory is she referring to?
This play looks into the life of an elderly, homeless, Afro-Caribbean woman. Homeless people generally live on the margins of our society and homeless people of colour are even less visible. Evangeline’s story however, takes centre stage. There is also the exploration of language, as the Trinidadian vernacular is not ordinarily heard on our stages. Homelessness is not the only theme to be explored: the play has various layers. These layers can only be discovered by coming along and seeing it!

She Called Me Mother is at Trinity on Wednesday, October 14. For more info and to book tickets, visit http://www.3ca.org.uk/whats-on/trinity/2015/she-called-me-mother