Seeds (NHB Modern Plays)

'What would you do to save your son? Everything? Anything? Lie?' It's Michael Thomas's birthday. A cake sits in his mother Evelyn's living room, its candles burning undisturbed. On the fifteenth anniversary of Michael's fatal stabbing, Jackie wants to clear her conscience, whilst Evelyn's got a big speech to deliver. Are some things better left unsaid? Mel Pennant's play seeds explores the human story behind a tragedy, through the eyes of those left behind: two mothers united in sorrow, and sharing the hardship of protecting their sons - one in life, and one in death. seeds was shortlisted for the Alfred Fagon Award, and first produced on a UK tour in 2020 by tiata fahodzi and Wrested Veil, in association with Leeds Playhouse, Soho Theatre and Tara Finney Productions.

Mel Pennant is a screenwriter and playwright, and a practising lawyer. Her plays include: seeds (tiata fahodzi tour, 2020) and No Rhyme (Jack Studio Theatre, London, 2013).