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Pam Ferris is Mattie in Juliet Ace's new drama.

Words are becoming more and more difficult for Mattie. Is this because of her illness, dementia or just old age?
Duty. Dignity. Fear. Pain and Humour are words she'll never forget. You can add Bloody-mindedness to the list
and the refusal to call cancer a battle to be won. Her diagnosis allows Mattie the golden opportunity to plan her
'future' but then unbelievably she doesn't die. Mattie is startling truthful but she has a wicked sense of humour too.

Mattie ...... Pam Ferris
Written by Juliet Ace
Directed by Tracey Neale

Juliet Ace, television and radio writer, has written a wonderful drama right from the heart.
Eighty year old Mattie has Stage 4 cancer. Words are becoming more and more difficult to find. Is this because of cancer, dementia or just old age? Duty. Burden. Dignity. Fear. Pain and Humour are words she’ll never forget. You can add Bloody-mindedness to the list and the refusal to call cancer a battle to be won. Mattie regards her cancer as a pantomime villain who is, by turns, devious and full of dark humour.
She is given 18 months to live which allows Mattie the golden opportunity to plan her ‘future’. There’s a will to make, a funeral to organise and possessions to give away. It’s an empowering experience. But then, unbelievably, she doesn’t bloody die. Four years later, Mattie is left with very limited mobility and exhaustion – a condition she shares with many cancer patients who are supposedly cured of the disease. Thank god for her wicked sense of humour, her irreverence and her ability to appreciate the ironies of the situation.