“It’s true, that’s what it is. It’s not based on the true story, it is a true story.” How to Survive Your Mother is a new play written by Jonathan Maitland, centred around his relationship with his mother. And when the main character is such a crazy and uniquely charismatic woman, it's hard not to be intrigued by this production.
The play revolves around Maitland's intention to write a play with his mother as the main character, and is also cut by this concept into two time spaces: on one side he is working on writing the script for the play, and on the other side, it shows the image of his mother as he sees her and his relationship with her, from his childhood up to her death. Because of the large span of time, the plot is given in fragments, linked by a series of events.
The design of the stage is simple but interesting (Louie Whitemore). On the snowy white stage sit several movable black cages. Each cage contains a variety of household items: telephone, clothes, records, chocolates, even the script... Whenever the actors need something, they take it out of the cage and put it back in when they finish using it. When the cages are put together, a chair or a bed can be formed. The lighting (Jason Taylor) is brightly coloured, with reds, blues and greens being used extensively to illuminate the white stage in different colours without feeling out of place. As the bright lights flash on and off with the sound of the photographs being taken, the gorgeous scene of the mother being photographed is presented. Music (Josh Spear) is also used heavily in this play to set the mood and heighten the atmosphere of this story.
“I’m not an actor, I’m the playwright. I’m the real person.” Maitland makes this announcement to the audience shortly after the play begins. As he says, he plays himself in the play. Not only does he perform the scene where he talks to his wife about the play, but he also remains on stage or in the audience when the story of his mother and himself is presented, observing. This reminds the audience at all times that it is a true story.
Except for Maitland, the cast of this production all play multiple roles. With a change of character's clothing, the actor switches to another character naturally. The entire cast's performance is very harmonious, and there is a sense that all are working together to create this world on stage. The mother, played by Emma Davies, stands out particularly with vigour without being over the top, and it is very convincing that the mother she portrays is capable of doing the things she does in the play. It is also worth noting that the state of the son in his childhood (Brodie Edwards and Howard Webb), adolescence (Peter Clements), and of the moment (Jonathan Maitland) is very unified.
At the beginning of the play, when indicating the identity of the three men, the three together take a bag of chocolates - a favourite snack of the son during his childhood -from the cage and eat it simultaneously. When expressing the son's growth in age, the son from childhood eats an apple before tossing it to the adolescent son, who proceeds to eat it. This is a simple, straightforward and very clever way to address their growing age.
Overall, How to Survive Your Mother is interesting, but it isn't yet fully satisfying. Although we witness the things that the mother has done as the son grows up, it still seems as if we do not really know the mother very well. The play is more like a laying out of facts that the playwright experienced one after the other. While it concentrates on the relationship between the mother and the son, it doesn't delve into a deeper exploration of the link between them. There is also room for discretion in the selection of events, some of which, while certainly interesting, don't have to be presented; while others that are very intriguing are briskly skimmed over. But after 90 minutes of watching her story, when you see her trying to hold on to every glimmer of light even though the lights are fading out, it's somehow still touching.
How to Survive Your Mother runs at King’s Head Theatre until 24th November 2024. For more information and tickets, you can follow the link here.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3*)
Gifted tickets in return for an honest review | photography by Charles Flint
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