About the Play:

What's in the Cat is a full-length drama by Linda Brogan. A semi-autobiographical first play about the love and hatred during her own upbringing in Manchester's notoriously deprived inner-city area of Moss Side. What's in the Cat is an unflinching portrayal of a volatile home life that explores how history often repeats across the generations.

What's in the Cat is a semi-autobiographical representation of the playwright aged 15. The play's title derives from an old Irish saying, "what's in the cat is in the kitten" meaning that daughters have a genetic inheritance which requires them to make the same mistakes as their mothers. It's 1974 in the impoverished Manchester neighbourhood of Moss Side, and heavily pregnant, 15-year-old Lauren returns home for the first time since her dad Bogey, a West Indian immigrant, threw her out. She has come back, after months of estrangement, for Christmas dinner, but she's not staying. They've found her a school with a crèche (day nursery) so she can do her exams. Dad thinks she should stay home and mum Margaret, a fiery, disappointed Irish woman, thinks she should have kept her legs shut. Pregnant Lauren has taken after her Mum in more ways than one, but they do say that what's in the cat is surely in the kitten.

What's in the Cat premiered in 2005 at Contact Theatre in Manchester as part of Critical Mass, a playwriting initiative aimed at encouraging young black and ethnic minority writers, before transferring to the Royal Court in London.

Cast: 2 female, 3 male

What people say:

"Compelling, and often very funny, viewing. Four Stars." — Manchester Online

"Brogan is a thrilling new talent who presents a difficult equation with truth, compassion and not a little humour." — The Herald (Glasgow)

About the Playwright:

Linda Brogan is a multi-award winning British playwright. She has been writer-in-residence at the National Theatre, Contact Theatre, Askham Grange Prison, and the Whitworth Art Gallery.