Mother? at Live

Plus Live's Unearthed Festival and an exciting book debut

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This week is pretty full on for me: lots of shows lined up. On Monday I was at The Stand - a venue I always like but don’t go to as often as I would like, to see Hannah Walker’s An Evening with Savvy B, a funny, personable and engaging show about who we become when we drink, and the alter egos we create to survive. (Walker also passes out glasses of wine throughout the show, which I actually think slows it down a little, but since I scored a free glass of New Zealand white out of it I’m not complaining…)

[Image description: flier for An Evening with Savvy B]

Mother? at Live

Yesterday marked the kick off of Live’s Unearthed Festival, which runs until 11 July. Rachel Stockdale’s Mother? was the opening show, having already been performed at ARC Stockton, where it was developed.

Directed by Tracy Gillman and written and performed by Stockdale, this is based on a hundred or so interviews with mams, mums and primary caregivers (mostly, but not exclusively, women). It tackles motherhood in all its many forms, and the often-uneasy journey to having children (or not).

Emerging from a ball pit / birthing pool on a stage filled with toys, Stockdale is an empathetic, sometimes frantic figure, delivering a mix of personal anecdotes, quotes from parents and insight into her own life and family circumstances, the ambivalence about motherhood that kickstarted the project. Some of the participants’ comments are acted out by her, some relayed via recordings that she reacts to; sometimes she is directly addressing the audience, editorialising the content with her own views.

It’s a deeply humane show, recognising that while the challenges parental figures face may vary – there are some heartbreaking moments and some infuriating, as the show addresses the reality of dealing with children damaged by neglect, or navigating medical indifference or dismissal – but at their root, all mothers are connected. Even the school-gates stereotypes it’s so easy to dismiss – the posh mum with the nanny, the ‘slob’, the helicopter parent.

It strikes a good balance between humour and outrage – it’s often very funny, while quietly furious about how motherhood and caregiving is undervalued by society, how working class women are so often dismissed, how pregnancy and childbirth are too often dangerously compromised by dated medical attitudes. Stockdale has great comic timing, but she also handles darker topics well.

I enjoyed Stockdale’s previous work, Fat Chance, but I think there’s always a question over what happens next when an artist’s standout piece feels so personal: once they’ve mined your own life for material, do they actually have anything else to say? By broadening her scope, Stockdale shows she’s not just a storyteller for her own stories, but can deftly shine a light on other people’s.

[Image description: poster for Mother?]

I spoke to Stockdale after the show about her plans for Mother? and she’s hoping at some stage to tour, so if it comes near you, I recommend checking it out.

NOTE: If you do go see it, be sure to check the content warnings on the relevant website / with the venue beforehand, as not only does it deal with some emotive topics, it uses flashing and strobe lighting.

Live Unearthed

The rest of the Festival has some great stuff to investigate. A highlight I have already mentioned is Reverb, a rehearsed reading of a musical by Rosie Bowden and Maya Torres which promises to be a fun night out. I saw an early version of this, and it was charming and fun.

Another piece I am excited about is Mam, Me, Mia, which is written by the multi-talented Chess Tomlinson (a runner up in the recent North East Playwriting awards) and directed by Karen Traynor, who recently directed Live’s big show Astell & Woolf. Tomlinson also stars, alongside Jess Johnson and Lucy Eve Mann. A play about love, loss and family, this story of three generations of a family and the complexity of mother-daughter relationships, this sounds very much up my street!

I also like the sound of The Awakening, which is presented by ‘the feminist cult agenda’ and is a new show by Nicola Mantalios and Kerris Gibson. It’s on this Friday.

A Play for Breakfast offers a chance to read and discuss a play over free coffee and pastries: 1536 by Ava Pickett has had stellar reviews (and deals with a topic I am fascinated by, Anne Boleyn). Alas I am not a morning person so would not want to inflict my start-of-day presence on strangers, but you should all totally go. There are more of these lined up so check the Live website for details.

Beth Mullen’s Ulcers deals with the tricky topic of the impact of a child’s serious illness on their parents: this is a dramatic reading starring Chris Connell and Christina Berriman Dawson. Volodymr Pirerov’s Juliet’s Confession: A Draft of Immortality looks at Juliet’s side of the Romeo & Juliet story, performed by the talented Bridget Marumo.

There’s also a Scratch Night and a cabaret (Lasses & The Girlie Show, curated by the booked and busy Bowden and Hendrika Seguro-Bigg). The festival closes out with a double bill of Geet Northern’s Medieval Babes and a collaboration piece, What Adult Am I?

Tickets are mostly priced around £10 with concessions available (pro-tip: Live’s website is super annoying and shows its ‘with donation’ options first so it’s easy to end up ticking the wrong box and thinking things are pricier than they are. Click carefully and you can bag a bargain!)

You can read more about the festival here:

Two to book for July

On the topic of ARC Stockton and plays about families, I really like the sound of Let’s Love, Seemia Theatre’s piece centred on three love stories and celebrating Stockton’s diversity. There are small snacks and Persian tea on offer and it’s pay what you feel, so do get along if you can!

Over at the Theatre Royal, Project A (the theatre’s acting programme for young people aged 18-25) is bringing Laura Wade’s Posh to its studio. This look at privilege and class remains tragically relevant, and the tickets are way cheaper than normal Theatre Royal prices (it’s selling fast, too, so get going!)

Exciting new debut novel

I’m still reading the books I mentioned last week (that Phillipa Gregory is massive, cut me a break, it’s gonna take a while…), though that does mean I am doubling down on my rec for Jane Flett’s Freakslaw, which I am really enjoying.

So instead I am reccing a book that just got published: Lauren Mooney’s debut novel, Service. Mooney is a writer, dramaturg and theatre-maker best-known for her work co-running Kandinsky Theatre Company and her writing for Big Finish, for whom she and husband (Stewart Pringle, whose play The Bounds is a fave of mine – bloody power couples being annoyingly talented, eh?) write Torchwood and Doctor Who audio stories.

I know Mooney a little, and have always found her admirably eloquent and clear-eyed about privilege and poverty (she’s written before for publications like Exeunt on the arts and working class creatives) so this ‘workplace novel meets haunted house tale’ is definitely high on my summer reading list.

RSC new programme - including Newcastle!

Speaking of Stewart Pringle, his new play Brock’s Mill is part of the RSC’s new programme. Directed by Rufus Norris, this is billed as ‘a eulogy to the craft of stop-motion animation, it delicately examines nostalgia and the fragile truth of memory’. I love Pringle’s work so would say this is very worth it if you can travel.

If you can’t, all is not lost. The RSC has a long and distinguished relationship with Newcastle - I saw many of my first Shakespeares at the Theatre Royal as part of RSC tours, including shows featuring big names like Ian McKellen, Mark Rylance and Derek Jacobi. As part of a major four-year touring programme, Blanche McIntyre’s acclaimed production of Merry Wives of Windsor is coming here, so keep an eye out. I like McIntyre as a director - she has a pleasing lightness of touch - so I am definitely going to try and catch this when it goes on sale.

[Image description: Dark Dates book with a What We Do in the Shadows mug: Leave me to do my dark bidding on the internet].

Anyway, thanks again for reading – please do share with your friends! Every new subscriber really does give me a boost. And remember if you want to support my writing but a paid subscription isn’t for you (times are hard, I get it!), you can buy me a one-off Ko-fi or buy one of my books.

Remember: everything included is my personal preference / opinion, and while I strive to be accurate, I always advising checking with the relevant venue.