Son of a Bitch, which is written and performed by Anna Morris, is a refreshing yet brutally honest play that takes an uncensored look at being a mother. Morris bursts on stage with real reckoning, easily commanding the audience's attention, both with her brilliant performance and somehow even more brilliant writing. Directed by Madelaine Moore, Son of a Bitch is an instant winner of a play and deserves to emerge as a stand out show.
Following a 10 second video of her going viral online for calling her 4-year old son a C**t on a flight, Marnie's life changes drastically as social media outrage begins to infiltrate into her life. Whilst the play starts with this attention grabbing headline moment, the click bait effect is slowly weaned off as the audiences are given unrestricted access to the events leading up to the moment, and the quite toxic aftermath. The play jumps between the past (events leading up to the video), the present (the events surrounding the video) and the future (the events that occur because of the video).
Morris is immediately captivating on stage, choosing to not only address audiences members directly, but does so with a challenging air. The audiences are treated to the tough Marnie in her 30s, but also to a younger Marnie in her teens and twenties, as her upbringing, friends and environment shapes her personality. Flashbacks and future events occur alongside one another, with quick scene transitions (a moment of darkness with a lit up set), yet it's always clear exactly where in Marnie's life the scene is set in. Morris occasionally takes on other roles, such as her brother Chris, friend Lucy, parents, husband Jake and son Charlie, and is believable in each role. Morris is a strong performer, neatly bringing out the different layers of Marnie, as her more frigid exterior is slowly dwindled down to scared, angry, hurt, betrayed, and so deeply loving.
The play is drenched in dark humour, biting wit, unflinching honesty, sarcastic commentary and a healthy dosage of a "no bullshit" mindset, making for an entertaining evening. Even without Morris' razor-sharp wit, the reliability of minor daily inconveniences has the audience chuckling along. Morris' unfiltered thoughts are open and unafraid, allowing audiences to connect with her and laugh along side the varying levels of stupidity that exists. From Facebook groups, to dad jokes, to impulsive thoughts and toddler messes, the play keeps the audience laughing throughout, often almost drowning out Morris' next line.
Morris' writing and storytelling ability and Moore's direction keeps audiences thoroughly invested throughout as evidenced by the loud and sharp gasps, heavy sniffs or even mutters of disbelief when certain plot twists are revealed during the final scene. Without spoiling the show, the literal parallelism of the flight metaphors are excellent and really tie the show together.
Morris manages to include a number of impressive ideas into the play, and does them all exceedingly well. Tackling a rather difficult topic such as infertility and IVF, Morris never shies away from the public and private shame and pressure that her character Marnie, and women all around the world, feel as it takes an emotional and physical toll on them. Although never forced into having a child, the constant implications, nagging, reminders and pressure ticks overhead as friends and family slip in and out of her life, creating a staggeringly authentic replication of life. The play chooses to focus on these smaller moments in conversations that are often glossed over, which elevates the play as a whole, especially when contrasting it well with the present and future events unfolding alongside.
Another subtle detail that Morris draws attention to is the lack of awareness of procedures, and the casual everyday sexism that comes into play. Whilst the play is a comedy and the audience spends the majority of it in stitches, its these smaller moments that remain after the laughter as faded. Morris uses her comedic skills to hide these horrific truths, yet it still stings at the end of the night. It's the juxtaposition of having an entertaining time during the show, and being left with something warm and heavy to take home with you, that makes the show truly special.
The writing and performance are further enhanced with the use of voice overs (voices by Andrew Toynbee, Guleraana Mir, Jack Wakely, Josie Shipp, Josie Underwood, Madelaine Moore, Nastajza Domaradzka, Olivia Hurst, Paul Hougham and Sam Underwood) that help create an audible experience of social media comments and posts spilling into Marnie's life (Sound Design by Ellie Isherwood). Morris and Moore, alongside Dramaturg Dave Jackson, have chosen to include captions into the show, a wonderful initiative for accessibility. A screen that doubles into an airport information board provides captions throughout the performance (Megan Lucas).
Son of a Bitch is a must-watch show, with its excellence shining throughout. Morris has created a hilarious comedy that packs a punch and leaves audiences feeling more empathetic and challenging the mirage that is social media.
Son of a Bitch is currently playing at the Southwark Playhouse Borough until 15th March.
★★★★★ (5*)
Gifted tickets in return for an honest review | Photography by Steve Gregson
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