Mary's Daughters
by Kaya Bucholc, in collaboration with Will Wallace
BiLLO • The Space, 2024 • Edinburgh Festival Fringe, 2025
BiLLO • The Space, 2024 • Edinburgh Festival Fringe, 2025
Generously Funded by the Arts Council of England
Mary Wollstonecraft meets her daughters, Mary Shelley and Fanny Imlay, in the afterlife in a poetic exploration of motherhood, legacy and the complicated bonds between women separated by life, death and history.
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The ProductionMary’s Daughters imagines an impossible reunion: in the afterlife, Mary Wollstonecraft comes face to face with the two daughters she left behind — Mary Shelley and Fanny Imlay.
Freed from chronology, the three women are able to confront one another across time, reckoning with motherhood, abandonment, love, loss and the weight of Wollstonecraft’s legacy. My approach centred on creating an afterlife that could hold all of those histories at once: a theatrical space shaped by memory rather than reality, where time could collapse and images, objects and bodies could continually transform. |
An Afterlife Built from Memory
Creating a world outside time.
The afterlife gave us permission to step outside historical realism. These women no longer had to belong to a single period: their memories, relationships and histories could exist alongside one another.
I wanted the space to feel as though it could be continually remade by them. Rather than reproducing the eighteenth or nineteenth century, we built a theatrical world in which movement, objects and recurring images could summon the past, transform it and allow different versions of these women’s lives to collide.
I wanted the space to feel as though it could be continually remade by them. Rather than reproducing the eighteenth or nineteenth century, we built a theatrical world in which movement, objects and recurring images could summon the past, transform it and allow different versions of these women’s lives to collide.
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Making the Afterlife
We developed a visual language built around recurring objects, colours and images that could accumulate meaning as the women revisited their lives.
Transformation became central to the storytelling. Fabric, bodies and objects could shift from one thing into another, allowing memory to materialise in the space without the production becoming literal or naturalistic.
I was interested in letting the audience see those transformations happen — allowing the act of making and remaking the world to become part of the theatrical language itself.
Transformation became central to the storytelling. Fabric, bodies and objects could shift from one thing into another, allowing memory to materialise in the space without the production becoming literal or naturalistic.
I was interested in letting the audience see those transformations happen — allowing the act of making and remaking the world to become part of the theatrical language itself.
Ensemble as StorytellerThe ensemble were central to creating the world around the three women. Rather than disappearing when they weren't at the centre of a scene, performers became part of the theatrical machinery — shifting space, creating images and helping one memory transform into another.
Transitions became storytelling in themselves. The mechanics remained visible, allowing the audience to watch the past being constructed, dismantled and remembered in front of them. |
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Developing the Work
As a piece of new writing, Mary’s Daughters continued to evolve through rehearsal. Working collaboratively with the writers, performers and creative team, we explored the piece on its feet, allowing its physical and visual language to emerge alongside the storytelling. The production subsequently transferred to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where we continued to develop the work for a new space and audience.
The original 2024 production at The Space was supported using public funding by Arts Council England.
The original 2024 production at The Space was supported using public funding by Arts Council England.
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Cast
Mary Wollstonecraft: Megan Carter Mary Shelley: Rachael Reshma Fanny Imlay: Kaya Bucholc |
Creative
Playwright: Kaya Bucholc in collaboration with Will Wallace Director: Kay Brattan Producer: Billy Steel, Alice Greening Stage Manager: Issy Paull Assistant Director: Billy Steel Set Design: Marysia Bucholc Sound Design: Robert Moutrey Photos by Billy Steel |
Press + Recognition
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★★★★
“The performances are uniformly excellent – the actors work brilliantly together as a family group.” The Peg |
“A thoughtful and lively performance with a cast that carries us confidently through the decades.” British Theatre Guide |
Edinburgh Fringe 2025 Review
EDINBURGH FRINGE THEATRE AWARDS 2025 – WINNER
★★★★★
“An awe-inspiring feat that very few can achieve… standing ovation after standing ovation for this five-star show.”
Lauren Williams, Ed Fringe Review
“An awe-inspiring feat that very few can achieve… standing ovation after standing ovation for this five-star show.”
Lauren Williams, Ed Fringe Review
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Excellent Show
“Through movement, physical stage placement and dialogue, the three break apart and fragment. It all makes for compelling drama.” Fringe Review |
★★★★
“Under the direction of Kay Brattan, the piece moves apace, on the whole with clarity and precision.” North West End |
