Billed as a show about maternal ambivalence, Anna Morris’ debut play is an honest and sympathetic portrait of a woman on the edge. Morris plays Marnie, a yoga teacher who goes viral for a ten second video clip of an air rage incident where she calls her four year old son Charlie a “cunt”. Her husband says she’s probably a bad parent, other mums ostracise her at the school gates, and she is roundly condemned by strangers from across the globe. However, in a cleverly written script full of twists and turns, we learn that there is more to the story than meets the eye.
In this solo show Morris plays a wide variety of characters with considerable skill, switching from an eccentric flatmate to a slightly hapless father with small changes of accent and body language. These different voices might become confusing in the hands of a less skilled performer, but in this case they serve to highlight Marnie’s isolation.
The play begins at the moment of the incident, and then skips back and forth in time. We learn about life after going viral, and Marnie reveals her struggle to become a parent. Morris tackles the pressures that women face to be the perfect mother or to live up to social media standards, and challenges the narrative that those who remain childfree are somehow lacking. The aspirational state of motherhood is very different from the reality of dealing with an irrational small child, especially when the world is watching and judging. Perhaps the voice of the child is pitched a little young here for one who is due to start school, but this is a minor criticism.
Director Madelaine Moore keeps the action moving at a good pace, and Ellie Isherwood’s atmospheric sound design and Megan Lucas’ simple lighting combine well to delineate the changes of mood, time and place. There are a few small technical hitches, but this is the first preview performance.
This is a moving and thought provoking piece, laced with dark humour, and will both challenge and entertain audiences.
Reviewer: Torya Hughes
Reviewed: 1st August 2024
North West End UK Rating: