Mum’s The Word – The Palace Theatre, Manchester

Writers:Linda A Carson, Jill Daum, Alison Kelly, Robin Nichol, Barbara Pollard, Deborah Williams

Director: Andrew Lynford

Reviewer: Cathy Crabb

The Public Reviews Rating:

The play itself, is the product of a group of six actors from Vancouver getting together and writing about their experience of motherhood.

The staging is very simple- five chairs in a semi circle with an oversized fridge upstage in Act I and then two large boxes either side of the fridge in Act II one serving as a swimming baths cubicle for a hilarious sketch by Mandy Holliday which results in her running across the stage naked.

The main attraction here are the separate mother’s stories. Which on the whole were funny and interesting, though as Act I consisted of their accounts of the birth and early days of motherhood, as to be expected, all the accounts seemed to have similar themes- nappies, getting the baby to sleep, not brushing your hair and being neurotic. In Act II the stories varied more and were more interesting as the characters have settled into their roles and new life so they reflect more as individuals, and to be fair, that’s how motherhood is on the whole.

There are fine performances by all five actors. Tracy Shaw as Jill gives us a sweet, embracing and loving account of her shift from glamorous and popular socialite to shunned unkempt mother, she reminds us there is so much to worry about and that often your intellectual side can take a lesser piece of the pie when motherhood consumes you. Lauren Barclay played the part of Robin, a frustrated and lonely parent growing distant from her partner who she communicates with by leaving messages on the fridge, gives us a steady reminder that motherhood for some isn’t all cuddles and coos.

Susie Fenwick’s career woman turned mum Deborah is played fantastically annoying with her refusal to slouch and her desperation to work again and talk about things other than babies. She talks of how gallant and heroic she would be if her child had a disability (a bad call I felt by the writers to laden comedy on such a serious and much more interesting story of motherhood) after accidentally dropping her baby on her head before finding out she was over reacting. Mandy Holliday is hilarious as Barbara and really great to watch, she has the writer’s account, it appears, who approaches motherhood with hilarity, love and bemusement. But the most striking performance for me, has to be Sally Ann Matthews as Alison, a mother of a premature baby that is totally engulfed by this new life and will do anything to do the right thing, whatever that may be. She has the knack of pulling on the heartstrings as well as having great comedy timing, she was a joy to watch.

This is a great play for the collective worship of and united whinge about motherhood. That’s the premise and it delivers on that front. I do wonder what the men (about three) and those without children in the audience would make of it. Many of the jokes wouldn’t have the same impact because the mums are enjoying laughing loudly together, being allowed to agree with the strangers around us that yes, we TOO, like utter fools, still take our children to restaurants.

Ending on a beautiful note that it is a miracle we are here at all, I went home happy, glad that my late night feeding days are over, and feeling privileged to have had that pleasure.