The ultimate mum monologue
Marnie, like all women, has felt the pressure to have kids. And now she’s had one, she regrets it, or does she? Son of a bitch follows the descent of a woman into chaos of the motherhood she never really wanted.
A whirlwind 60-minute monologue, this is perhaps one of the only one-person shows that could easily be 30 minutes longer. Writer and performer Anna Morris has created a wonderfully rich world with such distinct characters that the audience are completely immersed, giving Morris a well-deserved standing ovation.
Marnie loses it at her 4-year old son mid-flight and the moment goes viral. The resulting fallout explores what it means to have the child everyone is telling you that you should want, and finding out that parenthood isn’t everything it’s cracked up to be. A deeply relatable topic to every woman in the audience, Marnie isn’t afraid to vocalise the taboo thoughts so many of us have around having children.
Portraying parents, friends, children and countless other characters, Morris is a chameleonic force, transforming from one person to the next with practised ease. Her portrayal of Marnie’s father is particularly impressive, with a pronounced physicality and Northern accent that brings giggles from the audience every time.
Not limiting the plot to one woman’s struggle, Morris explores the stories of women of older generations who had no choice but to have children, gay people of the 90’s without alternatives to a child-free life, women who still have struggle even with live- in help and everyone in between. Rather than spreading the story too thin, the inclusion of these characters enriches the plot and expands the relatability of the narrative.
Directed by Madelaine Moore, the show is presented on a thrust stage, presumably designed to mimic the aisle of the airplane where Marnie loses her composure. During lightning quick scene transitions a glowing spiral is illuminated by strip lights, with a set designed by Cory Shipp, the real focal point of the stage are the captions.
Morris has single-sided deafness and supports Action on Hearing Loss, with all shows featuring integrated creative captioning. Designed by Megan Lucas, it’s refreshing to see an accessibility measure implemented in a non-performative way, that is genuinely part of the performance. Texts, announcements and dialogue are all creatively captioned, adding extra flair and comedic moments to the spoken words.
Morris has written the kind of one-woman show many performers aim to create, witty, impactful and unique. A cleverly constructed tour de force, Son of a bitch is not to be missed.