Rose Cottage Press Page
Press Releases
First press release, issued 1 July.
Second press release, issued 16 July.
Press Coverage
Radio interview with
Steve Pearce by Andrew Edwards at All FM.
Local newspaper interview with Kathryn Worthington from
South Manchester Reporter.
Local newspaper interview with Steve Pearce from
Lancashire Evening Post.
Reviews
Manchester Evening News:
“ROSE Cottage”, apparently, is a euphemism for a hospital mortuary, one of which is a refuge for hospital cleaners
Bernice (Diana Brooks) and Carla (Kathryn Worthington) on their ‘fag break”.
When they’re joined by Polish immigrant Agnieska (Gemma North), Carla’s racism becomes only too clear,
whereas Bernice seems a little too eager to talk to Agnieska, who can speak next to no English.
A black comedy about immigration, love and loneliness, Rose Cottage isn’t just played for laughs,
and what seems like a feelgood finale is actually followed by a genuinely poignant closing scene
in this engaging production.
Three stars
Kevin Bourke
UK Theatre Network:
I’d already heard a lot of positive things about Rose Cottage, and tonight’s sell-out was proof of the way
that word gets around. Still, who wouldn’t be curious to see a show whose premise is: There were these
three cleaners taking a fag break in a mortuary…
Agnieska (Gemma North) is trying to earn enough money to go back to Poland and get married, but her fiancé
keeps spending her bottom-drawer savings on property improvements for his farm. Chavvy Carla
(Kathryn Worthington) doesn’t think it’s right that English jobs are being taken by foreigners,
even though her own useless husband would rather sit at home than work. Bernice (Diana Brooks),
a one-woman UN peace-keeping mission in a pinnie, separates the warring factions, facilitates negotiations,
and doles out free ciggies.
Although Rose Cottage is billed as a black comedy, it’s primarily a workplace drama about bigotry,
economic migrants, and the endemic apathy and low expectations of the working-class. But thank goodness
there are also some near-the-knuckle jokes about the stiffs on the slabs (why would you want to waste that
location?).
The three actresses play off one another extremely well. Gemma North’s bemused Agnieska is touchingly
vulnerable and her Polish accent is very convincing (as far as I can tell!). Kathryn Worthington endows
the seemingly unlikable Carla with some measure of sympathy by showing how her fury stems from insecurity
and envy. And Diana Brooks as mother-hen Bernice is sad but stoic, with more to her than meets the eye.
Fittingly for a play set in a mortuary, Steve Pearce writes very good endings - every scene closed with a
spontaneous round of applause. Tonight’s packed audience left well-satisfied.
Three stars
Caroline May