Apples in Winter is a quietly devastating play that exemplifies CAT’s mission to support courageous, compassionate, and artistically excellent work.
Written by Jennifer Fawcett and premiered in Europe by LynchPin, it won the Smith Prize for Political Theatre, the Susan Glaspell Award, and was nominated for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize.
In a prison kitchen, Miriam bakes her son’s final apple pie before his execution. As she peels, cores, and bakes, she confronts 22 years of grief, guilt, and love. Apples—once symbols of home and nurture—become painful vessels of farewell.
Edie Campbell’s solo performance was hailed as “transfixing” (Yorkshire Bylines), “astonishing” (Theatre Things), and “mesmeric” (John Locke). Directed by Claire Parker with evocative lighting and set, the production used silence, space, and scent to fully immerse the audience in Miriam’s emotional world.
Post-show conversations with artists, psychologists, and those with lived justice system experience deepened the impact and encouraged compassionate dialogue. This is theatre that opens hearts, provokes empathy, and invites vital reflection on justice, humanity, and forgiveness—core to CAT’s mission.