By Sue Fabisch
The Q until 19th August.
Reviewed by Bill Stephens
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| Ziggy Clements (Brooke), Sophie Weiss (Amy), Lara Thew (Barb), Sophie Carter (Trisha) MOTHERHOOD THE MUSICAL |
Entertainment Alert !!! . Perhaps you’ve decided that you’ve already seen enough shows
based around women’s body parts and
functions like menopause, breasts and
vaginas, and expect “Motherhood
The Musical” to be yet another show in which the characters complain about
being over worked, underpaid, under-appreciated, and how they cope with demanding kids, boorish husbands ,
sagging breasts and incontinence. Then you’d be right. It is!
But in this particular production, these all too familiar
topics prove remarkably diverting with lots of funny topical references spicing
up Sue Fabisch’s already witty script.
The threadbare storyline involves three friends who call on
their pregnant girlfriend to regale her with their own individual experiences
of motherhood. These are presented in a series of well-crafted songs that are
catchy, even occasionally moving, cleverly choreographed and superbly delivered
by a quartet of accomplished actors who manage to invest their characters with
warmth and humour.
The centre of attention is the heavily pregnant, Amy, and in
this role, gamin-faced Sophie Weiss is a delight. Blissfully happy at the
beginning as she over-plans her forthcoming pregnancy, she experiences the full
gamut of emotions as she endeavours to cope with the deluge of information
bestowed on her by her three friends, Barb (Lara Thew), Brooke (Ziggy Clements)
and Trisha (Sophie Carter). All of whom
offer engaging performances as the stereotypical friends.
Terrence O’Connell’s
inventive direction insures that the
carefully detailed action moves along a fast bat on Shaun Gurton’s cheerful,
colourful setting for which the sound and lighting are also excellent.
It is a shame that printed programs were not provided for
this production, as the actors and creative associated with it have excellent
credentials. Most theatre-goers like to
know who they are looking at, and seek this information from their programs
once they are seated; therefore it is a shame that production companies so undervalue
their actors by not providing this information in a printed program.
True, there was a notice providing this information displayed in
the foyer, but most patrons would have missed this, and also it is of little use for identifying actors while watching a
performance.