A ball pool, mountains of cuddly toys, a pull-along wooden dog, scores of books and bags of all kinds, a play kitchen, and countless other items of ephemera associated with child-rearing filled the stage at Live Theatre this week. What joy – Rachel Stockdale was in town with her latest heartfelt offering, Mother? The question mark is important because this newest production from award-winning Teesside lass, Rachel, interrogates what it means and what it takes to mother a child when the proverbial village is no longer reliable, and also whether it’s a journey she’s personally prepared to embark on.
Verbatim theatre
The show is in the style of verbatim theatre which means the text (spoken and recorded) is largely taken from interviews with real mothers and care-givers drawn from across the region. In the process of researching the play, Rachel spoke to a hundred or so people involved in the act of ‘mothering’ or supporting mothers. Some of them were in the audience and were obviously enchanted to see and hear themselves in starring roles. Rachel is one of the most generous theatre makers working today. She oozes humanity, giving 200% as she cavorts about the stage, kicking up the contents of the ball pool, wrestling with a life size teddy, gearing up for the school run, doing ante-natal exercises and dozens of other things that fall to mothers in the line of duty.
The ups and downs of parenthood
It’s not all rough and tumble however, as Rachel collapses with a cuppa every now and then to reflect on the ups and downs of parenthood, whether birth parents or not. Equal value is given to the experiences of those who foster or adopt and to kinship carers and grandparents. There are tender moments too such as the repeated listening to check that the sleeping baby is still actually breathing.
Pat’s story
A recorded soundtrack offers further insight from bawdy straight-talking mams to the clinical procedures required by those undergoing IVF. I particularly appreciated hearing Pat’s story. She’s a retired NHS midwife who arrived in the UK as part of the Windrush generation. After decades of dedicated public service helping to bring newborns of all ethnicities and faiths into the world Pat can’t but help notice the racism that has infected our society. She also has something to say about the increasing medicalisation of birth, a natural process in which mothers seemingly have less control.
Mother?
Tracy Gillman has provided masterful direction, allowing Rachel to showcase an incredible breadth of skills. The ‘Mams in the Playground’ section performed in the style of a 1950s natural history programme with matching handbags is absolutely hilarious, so too the painful peace-making negotiation between a mother and two quarrelsome siblings (represented by cuddly toys).
Rachel talked to all kinds of caregivers, mams, and some dads as part of her intensive research. She also held and cuddled a lot of babies and we are left in no doubt at the end of the play that, despite all the physical pain of birthing and the emotional stress of child-rearing, the awe and wonder embodied by these unique miniature human beings is a powerful magnet.
‘Mother?’ has been produced in association with ARC Stockton Arts Centre who also commissioned photographer Debbie Todd to create portraits of 30 of the interviewees. These images are on display in the Upstairs Gallery Lounge, at ARC until 7 July.
Find out more about Rachel Stockdale.
Find out more about Live Theatre.
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