Mum revives play after daughter's cancer death

The mother of an actress who died from an incurable brain tumour is reviving the acclaimed play she wrote about her experience of living with cancer.

Phoebe Frances Brown, from Nottingham, was inspired by her diagnosis to write and perform in the show, The Glad Game, before she died when she was 29 years old in April 2022.

Gail Brown has now helped to bring the one-woman play back to the Nottingham Playhouse, where Phoebe had previously performed it on the main stage.

Speaking ahead of the performance, Gail said: "I sometimes wonder if she wrote it as a self-help manual for me, and the people that are left in life who miss her so much."

When interviewed by the BBC in 2021, Phoebe said she had started writing the play while in hospital.

"I was writing more for myself because I was just making sense of it all," she said.

The Glad Game is billed as a "raw and unflinching" exploration of living with a cancer diagnosis.

But as well as laying bare her hopes, dreams and fears, her mother says its essence is life-affirming, about finding reasons everywhere to be glad.

Gail said whether it was a medical diagnosis or a mental health problem "the whole thing is a strategy for getting through the most horrific times in anyone's life".

Gail, who has worked as a producer on the new show, said she used the play as a blueprint for dealing with devastating news.

"I do it all the time," she said.

"I'm glad because I had 29 years of [Phoebe] in my life and she's taught us all that, no matter what is happening, there is always something to be glad about."

The new version of the show has been directed by Kathryn Edwards, with actor Jen White taking on Phoebe's story.

White, 39, said she was reticent at first about taking on the role, which was first performed to nightly standing ovations at The Lace Market Theatre in February 2026.

She said: "It's definitely added pressure playing Phoebe.

"This is her experience, they are her words, so there's an added layer of responsibility."

White has a script with a photo of Phoebe's face on it, which she said reminded her that it was normal to feel anxious about taking on the role of a real life and deeply-loved person.

But she also describes taking on the challenge as a "gift".

She said: "There is potential for people to read the synopsis and think 'it is a bit heavy', but it's about life and living.

"Yes, there are dark moments because Phoebe got the worst news she could have got, but it's about her living through that.

"I think it's really uplifting."

Edwards said one of the most important things when she took on the project was to have the family on board.

"It's been lovely working closely with Gail [Brown] as a producer and finding out more about Phoebe through her.

"It's made the whole thing even more personable."

The play will go on a UK tour in the spring after showing at the Nottingham Playhouse.

Edwards said it was a fitting legacy to Phoebe that the play would take on a new journey.

"There are so many beautiful things in life that can really bring happiness and finding that, when times are really tough, is what the play is really about," she said.

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