Cathy

Ali Taylor

• Publisher: Nick Hern Books
• Year: 2016
• eBook ISBN: 9781780018317
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: British Drama
• Index: Literature

Settled... Until suddenly you're not...

Forced out of London by spiralling living costs, Cathy finds herself in an unfamiliar town with no friends and no money; pushed to make choices she doesn't want to make...

Candid, poignant and intimate, Ali Taylor's play Cathy offers a timely reflection on the lives of those at the sharp end of economic austerity, faced with impossible choices and an uncertain future.

Inspired by Cathy Come Home, Ken Loach's pioneering television drama, Cathy was first produced in 2016 by Cardboard Citizens, a theatre company that makes work with and for homeless people, on a tour of the UK.

Scene One

April 2015. CATHY’s flat in East London. Evening.

JAY stands. He is dressed in a fashionable suit. CATHY is dressed casually, ready for her cleaning work. DANIELLE sits on the sofa with a textbook and exercise book open. She is dressed in school skirt and top, no tie. She is in the middle of homework.

JAY. Forty-three years!

CATHY. Forty-three years.

JAY. I can’t believe that!

CATHY. Born and bred.

JAY. Born and bred.

CATHY. That’s right. It’s like I got this place in my veins.

JAY. Writ through you like rock.

CATHY. I know every street.

JAY. Course you do.

CATHY. The people, the caffs, the best pubs.

JAY. You ent always been in here?

CATHY. Ten years in this flat.

Moved out when I got married, back when my mum passed.

JAY. And very nice it is. Two bed, bathroom, balcony. Attractive views over the communal gardens. What is it, seven hundred square foot?

CATHY. I guess.

JAY. All them years round here, that’s something. I’ve always moved around. Shepherd’s Bush, Brixton, Hoxton, you know. But I came back, my mum called up said, ‘Jay, we need you back in the fold, son.’

CATHY. Your mum alright?

JAY. Yeah yeah, the old girl’s all cool. She’s getting elderly now. All those years taking its toll. That’s why I’m taking on the portfolio. So, I was in the area, I thought I’d drop in.

I appreciate it’s unannounced and that.

CATHY. Your mum always gave us notice.

JAY. I do apologise, I do. I wanted to touch base.

CATHY. It’s seven o’clock, Jay. I’m going out to work.

JAY. I promise I won’t be long. I appreciate you gotta go.

(To DANIELLE.) And I can see you’re in the middle of homework there. What is that, Physics or summin’?

DANIELLE. History.

JAY. Old days’ stuff. You crack on with that. When I was at school the only A I got had the word ‘detention’ after it.

His joke dies.

Sorry, I should take my shoes off.

CATHY. I don’t mind.

JAY. No, I hate it when people just walk the streets in. I don’t want their footprints in my place. It’s my home.

Home ain’t just where the heart is. It’s where my new carpets are too.

His joke dies. He places his shoes on the floor.

Can I call you Catherine?

CATHY. Or Cathy, Cath, whatever.

JAY. And you are?

DANIELLE. Too young for you.

JAY. Ha! I like that! Bants! Nice bants.

CATHY. Danielle.

JAY. Danielle, I’m Jay.

JAY holds out his hand. DANIELLE shakes it, reluctantly.

I don’t wanna take up your time, Cathy. I wanted to check if you’d got our letters.

CATHY. Your letters?

JAY. Yeah yeah, just a couple of letters we sent.

CATHY. I don’t know if I’ve seen any –

JAY. They was first class.

CATHY. Dan?

DANIELLE. In the hall?

CATHY. Maybe. I don’t always check.

JAY. Things slip. I get that.

CATHY. I do keep on top of everything but I’m out ten, twelve hours a day.

JAY. You’re a busy person, I can see that.

(For DANIELLE’s benefit.) It’s a very industrious place here.

The letters were addressed to a Mr Glen Ward, i...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Original Production
• Director's Note
• Dedication
• Acknowledgements
• Characters
• Scene One
• About the Author
• Copyright and Performing Rights Information