REVIEW: MotherHood

Reading Time: 3 minutes

 A highly skilled solo performance alongside well researched verbatim – an extremely honest and moving piece

As I took my seat in Oxford’s Burton Taylor Studio, I was instantly struck by how many people my age had come to see MotherHood. It’s not often that a new one-woman play in a small theatre attracts the 15- 20 year old demographic, though MotherHood was sold out for a second night running, following public demand for more. The second the play began, it was obvious why. Against a projected backdrop of Oxford’s streets, verbatim recordings played the voices of teen boys, sharing their experience growing up ‘in endz’. Instantly I was taken aback by the familiarity of these testimonies; if you’d had told me these were my old classmates speaking I would have believed you. 

These testimonies lasted for a few minutes, ensuring everyone was properly listening, rather than treating them like an overture. More than once, the speakers mentioned knife crime- fear of it, encountering it, carrying knives themselves fuelled by a fear they couldn’t avoid it. This contrasted with my expectations of which themes a show about motherhood might explore, and I was eager to see how the show would handle this conversation, having usually only seen themes like this portrayed in didactic, somewhat condemnatory educational theatre. But as the play’s writer and performer Claire Nelson entered the stage, it was clear MotherHood was different. 

Inspired by her lived experiences, Nelson plays Lisa, a mother doing everything she can to support her child as he becomes involved in the world of knife crime. Never before have I seen this story told from a parent’s perspective, and as with the verbatim, Nelson’s character appeared familiar and immediately likeable. Her performance was incredibly honest, with tasteful candid humour interwoven amongst the heavy subject matter. Watching Nelson perform felt like having a chat with her in her kitchen- her intimate delivery and the natural colloquialisms within the writing were excellent. Furthermore, her ability to charm the audience, bring to life several other characters and hold our attention flawlessly throughout the hour long performance exposed a masterful ability to completely own the room. 

Structurally, this piece was interesting and unpredictable. The use of projections as timestamps allowed the incorporation of flashbacks and incomplete puzzle pieces of memory to be navigated with clarity. We follow the characters Nelson’s recounts conjure into their education system, hospitals, parks and even the local Tescos, allowing the discussion of classism, social exclusion, gang culture and hostility between communities. The empathy we can’t help but feel for Lisa’s child and his friends is an integral part of this play. She takes great care emphasising how, as a mother, she constantly has to fight for her child, but it is evident he is not a ‘bad kid’. As an audience member, you come away certain that it is not teen boys who need to change, but the environment and expectations we have created for them to grow up in. 

As the performance developed, Nelson chose to incorporate snippets of verbatim amongst her own storyline, helping to bring an aspect of reality to her script and ensuring that it really hit home. After reading the programme, I noticed this verbatim came from members of Oxford’s very own ‘InSpire’ programme for young people, highlighting Nelson’s passion for change and her genuine advocacy for the voices that the glamorised version of Oxford does not always care for, or even acknowledge. Her ambitions go beyond the play, aiming to raise money for bleed kits to prevent deaths from knife crime. This play truly highlights the positive impacts theatre can have on a community. 

There is perhaps a more cathartic, conclusive end to this story but I am glad Nelson chose to avoid it. The blunt and harsh end to her play was entirely appropriate and ensured the audience were struck by the emotional impact of the subject matter. I have never seen a play that feels this real, and am certain MotherHood has a long life of success after OffBeat!