A picture from a collection of letters from the mother of Polly Pattison to her father.
A picture from a collection of letters from the mother of Polly Pattison to her father.

Hull pensioner’s one-woman show heads to Edinburgh Fringe

A one-woman show from a Hull pensioner will be previewed at Kardomah 94 next month before heading to Edinburgh Fringe this summer.

Polly Pattison, who is 77 years old, will appear at the cafe to perform a preview of her show Keep Your Chin Up, in which she dramatises the content of 85 letters sent by her mother to her father during the Second World War.

Polly discovered the letters long after the death of her parents.

Written between 1940 and 1943, the intensely personal letters from her mother Ethel in Hull to her father Ken in north Africa and Italy give rare insights into everyday civilian life in those dark days.

Repeating her mother’s words with sensitivity and humour, Polly offers an unforgettable experience as she relives her mother’s personal history, supported by extracts from her father’s wartime diaries.

The preview has been made possibly by a Hull City Council arts grant, which supports artistic activity in the city.

The show takes place on Friday 5 July.

An exhibition to mark Gypsy, Roma and Traveller History Month will take place at the Streetlife Museum.