Fringe: Cathy *****

Pleasance Dome

Aug 2-26, 3.30pm

It is 50 years since Ken Loach shocked the nation with Cathy Come Home.

That its core message remains just as powerful and shocking says much about society today.

This stunning drama looks at the 2017 housing crisis and the widening equality gap in the UK – and it packs a hell of a punch.

Using the same methodology of Loach, it tells the story of a modern day Cathy and her daughter Danielle, turfed out by their landlord and pitched into a system that simply ticks boxes and offers little, if any, actual help.

Told with utter honesty, it is hard to watch at times as Cathy goes from sofa surfing to refuges to the street while raging against the system as she tries to protect her daughter on the cusp of sitting her exams.

But this is more than just a drama.

At the end of each show, the audience is engaged in a short discussion on their responses and, more importantly, what can be done to help.

The responses are all logged by the company, Cardboard Citizens, as part of its bid to really make a difference.

With this powerful drama they have challenged us to think, to talk, and to get angry.

The man sitting next to me was one of a number who wiped away a tear at the finale; a tear of shame, anger and despair ,... the three words picked by the audience to describe their immediate reaction to what they’d just seen.

Huge credit to the whole cast for this challenging, often uncomfortable but deeply important drama.

>> Cathy, Pleasance Dome

Aug 2-26, 3.30pm

Ticket info at Ed Fringe