This July, Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre presents the Australian premiere of Funeral Flowers, Emma Dennis Edwards’ unflinching and luminous portrait of survival set in the care systems of the UK where class is the final boss.
Opening Wednesday 29 July, this bittersweet, poetically lyrical and deeply human monologue is performed by Red Stitch Ensemble member Lucy Ansell (Your Name Means Dream, Super, Force of Nature: The Dry 2, Strife), and directed by Co-Artistic Director of Black Honey Company Candy Bowers (Safe Home, Crazy Fun Park, The Cry).
Inspired by the remarkable true story of Tottenham community leader Gina Moffatt, we follow the story of seventeen-year-old Angelique, in the nexus between childhood and adulthood, as she dreams of becoming a florist.
Flowers are her escape from bullies, from the care system, from the reality of her mum serving time. In a time when young people feel more uncertain than ever, Funeral Flowers is about growing up, fighting back, and finding hope where it seems impossible.
“This play is potent and very necessary. Half of my career has involved facilitating creativity with young people disadvantaged by cycles of poverty, racism and intergenerational incarceration<” says Director Candy Bowers.
“Emma Dennis-Edwards has coined a lyrical work that sings and stings in equal measure. It is a simple and brutally raw story told by a 17-year-old girl tumbling through systems built to destroy her.”
“She is a girl from the margins, easily stereotyped, dismissed or not even thought about. Funeral Flowers places that girl centre stage and sows powerful seeds of possibility,” says Bowers.
Winning both a Scotsman Fringe First Award and the Filipa Bragança Award in 2018, Funeral Flowers offers audiences a gripping, immersive experience of social inequality, self-discovery, and the beauty that can bloom in unexpected places.
Director: Candy Bowers | Featuring: Lucy Ansell | Set & Costume Design: Bianca Pardo | Lighting Design: Kyra Ryan | Composition & Sound Design: Christian Biko | Stage Manager: Samara Louise | Associate Artists: Fiker Gebrehana, Margasa Obsa | Hansen Graduate Attachment: Hannah Sims
Funeral Flowers
Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre, Rear 2 Chapel Street, St Kilda East
Season: 29 July – 23 August 2026 (previews: 25 – 28 July)
Information and Bookings: www.redstitch.net
Funeral Flowers will also be presented at The Bowery Theatre on 9 September 2026.
Image: Lucy Ansell stars in Funeral Flowers – photo by Matto Lucas