Mum

What does it take to be a good mother? Can anything prepare you for such a mammoth task? Morgan Lloyd Malcolm’s play Mum is a courageously feverish creation that explores the darker side of motherhood. Difficult to watch at times, and brutal in its realism, it makes for a deeply affecting 60 minutes.

We meet 30-something Nina (Sophie Melville) on her first night off since the birth of her baby, Ben, three months ago. Unbearably tired and overcome by love, she struggles to cope with the demands of parenthood and has started to have violent thoughts towards her child. “I don’t think I can actually do it,” she admits. Then, her guilt of having a wine-filled evening with her friend Jackie twists into a real-life nightmare of Ben being taken into hospital.

Nina’s story of loss tornadoes on to the stage. But it is the play’s focus on her relationships with her mother and mother-in-law (Denise Black deftly swaps between the two roles) that give it power. Melville steps into the skin of a person unravelling with astonishing force, while Black’s lengthy speeches as the overbearing and self-righteous Pearl, who offers unwanted parenting advice, are effectively riling. At the same time, the words of Nina’s distant, dying mother, telling her to "get rid" of her unborn child, linger in the air.

Directed by Abigail Graham, this story of every mother’s worst nightmare is full of pace and energy. We sense Nina’s loss even though we don’t entirely trust her. “I can’t live without him, so they have to give him back,” she yelps, uncontrollably.

Sarah Beaton’s clever design turns the whole theatre into an oversized adult nursery, complete with carpeted floors and a spinning cloud mobile that hangs overhead. This forces us to question whether we can ever leave our experiences of childhood in the past.

It would be easy for Malcolm’s play to veer into melodrama, but Mum always feels authentic. The early dialogue between Nina and Jackie is littered with the stresses so many mothers feel. “Aren’t I supposed to be the one person who knows what to do for him?” Nina asks. The later scenes, as Nina awaits her final verdict, combine just the right balance of frenzy and rawness.

Though not common, Nina’s experience of postpartum breakdown is one we rarely see on stage. Motherhood is so often sold as something that comes naturally to women, but Mum sheds light on its complexity. “It’s so hard, Nina,” her mum tells her. This is a mother’s narrative we so desperately need.