7:30PM
Mona and Mimi is set over one evening in December 1961, a time of great social change “between the end of the Chatterley ban and the Beatles’ first LP”. The play presents a fictionalised encounter between two real women, Mona Best and Mimi Smith, who couldn’t be more unalike, with Mimi stuck in the the past and Mona embracing the future. Initially all they seem to have in common is that their boys play together in a Liverpool beat group. However, as the play develops, parallels between the two women emerge as both grapple with their personal struggles and the sacrifices inherent in raising a child.
Mona Best, mother of the group’s drummer Pete, is an unconventional woman. She has started a lucrative rock and roll club in the basement of her home and is at this point informally managing the group. Into her life storms Mimi Smith, aunt and guardian of John, the group’s guitarist and singer. Mimi is relentless in her determination to thwart her nephew’s dream to make it as a musician, an ambition she views with undisguised contempt. She goes to Mona’s house to thwart the signing of a contract with a local music entrepreneur, unaware of Mona’s role in nurturing the band.
Mona & Mimi is the first full length play by Catherine Leen (Bright Sparks) and is directed by Nick Bagnall. Mimi is played by Meriel Scholfield, Mona by Fiona Boylan and Neil by Noah Fox.
‘A pity beyond all telling is hid in the heart of love’ – WB Yeats
List of team and cast:
Nick Bagnall – Director
Meriel Scholfield – Mimi
Fiona Boylan – Mona
Noah Fox – Neil
Catherine Leen – Writer/Producer
Xenia Bayer – Lighting & Sound Designer
@monaandmimi
