REVIEW: Mother? at Live Theatre
Rachel Stockdale's latest one-woman show explores the messy, contradictory realities of parenthood through the voices of more than 100 mums, dads and carers
Rachel Stockdale doesn’t waste any time setting the scene in Mother?.
The stage is awash with toys, toddler paraphernalia and the organised chaos that anyone who has raised young children will recognise. I found myself unexpectedly nostalgic - especially at the sight of the miniature IKEA kitchen that once occupied a corner of our own house for the best part of a decade.
It was worth its weight in Petit Filous yoghurts.
But while the props evoke the practical realities of family life, Mother? isn’t simply a play about raising children. It began with Stockdale asking herself a much more personal question: did she actually want to become a parent?
That uncertainty became the starting point for more than 100 conversations with mothers, fathers and primary carers, whose stories now form the backbone of this thoughtful one-woman show.
When I interviewed Stockdale before a script had even been written, she spoke about wanting to create a space where people could be honest about parenting without immediately feeling obliged to add, “But I love my children.” That desire to explore the contradictions of family life without judgement is what gives Mother? its emotional weight.
Directed by Tracy Gillman, the production moves between verbatim testimony, recorded interviews and Stockdale’s personal reflections with confidence and ease.
She has an engaging stage presence and a knack for finding humour in the everyday absurdities of parenting, from the politics of the school gate to the endless balancing act between work, relationships and family life.
The laughs, however, never come at the expense of the more difficult stories.
Experiences of infertility, adoption, loss, neglect and navigating healthcare all feature, alongside the frustrations of feeling invisible or overwhelmed. Rather than searching for a single truth about motherhood, Stockdale allows the contradictions to sit alongside one another.
Following the deeply personal Fat Chance, this feels like a natural progression. Stockdale is still asking big questions, but this time she’s handed the microphone to dozens of other people as well as herself.
The result is a piece that doesn’t attempt to define motherhood or parenthood. Instead, it reflects its complexity with warmth, humour and honesty - leaving audiences with plenty to think about long after the toys have been packed away.