"To you, Mom was always Mom. It never occurred to you that she had once taken her first step, or had once been three or twelve or twenty years old." Kyung-Sook Shin
House Rules Theatre's debut production is funny, inquisitive, and heart wrenching. It tells the story of a mother's firsts - from her first memories, to her first child, and asks the question - who was mum before she was mum?
Based on interviews with mothers and maternal figures from all differing backgrounds, 'Mum, Mummy, Mother' tells the seldom-told stories of life before motherhood, and how that life changes when motherhood begins. The play has been built with mothers at the heart of it, through open discussions, workshops, and artist's sessions with some of the incredible mothers from the local community and all across the UK.
The company was formed by theatre-makers and best friends Andy MacKinnon and Nikol Anastasiou, after several successful independent projects. Mum, Mummy, Mother will be their first theatrical collaboration since studying together, and will pave the way for many more to come. In the creation of Mum, Mummy, Mother, Nikol and Andy have spent weeks interviewing and learning from the experiences of mothers from all different backgrounds, as well as working within their community in North London to help new mothers get back in touch with themselves through theatre and art. Expect big things from this promising pair.
Mum, Mummy, Mother is the ideal show for both parents and their grown children. For fathers, the play highlights the all-too-common imbalance in the sacrifices and efforts made between both mothers and fathers when they enter parenthood. For their children, the play inspires curiosity into their own mothers' lives before they existed, and hopefully sparks some questions and conversations. And for mothers? This show is for them. An ode to their youth, to their old lives, and to the sacrifices they made for the lives of their children.
"Our children live in the most deprived ward in London and their parents cannot afford to pay for the classes and activities many more privileged children enjoy after school and at the weekends. A free-to-access youth group run by a local theatre in a professional setting is an incredible opportunity."
Local school teacher
