Review: Mothers' Day and Fathers' Day (Drayton Arms)

Mothers’ Day and Fathers’ Day are produced by Paradigm Productions, as part of a co-production with Drayton Arms Theatre.  Shown as a double bill, they are one hour plays written by Giles Fernando and directed by Penny Gkritzapi.

Both of these shows are one person shows which centre around family relationships. But the stories within could not have been more different.

Mothers’ Day

Pauline is an actress, and during this show she recalls her career, past and present, as well as her relationships with her husband, mother and daughter, none of which are particularly functional.  Pauline (Sarah Wanendeya) should have been a megastar, in her view, and the way she describes both her frustration with her own career being put on hold and her daughter’s taking off is entertaining, funny and full of ego and delusion.  

A particular few moments of discussion about breaking the fourth wall “because that was what it was known as back then” were absolutely hilarious. A scene where Sarah Wanendeya switches between characters was executed well too. There were definitely elements in the narrative that would resonate with different members of an audience.

This play was engaging and I could not take my eyes away from Pauline. The hour was completely full of narrative and I personally can’t imagine how difficult it must be to perform such a huge amount of dialogue despite it being an exceptionally hot day, latecomers arriving and items being dropped (loudly) in a small space where every little sensory change is augmented. Sarah Wanendeya's ability to focus around all of those things made them somehow feel less disruptive for audience members too.

The writing in this play is exquisite. The descriptions of parenting in the early years were so accurate you would imagine it could have only been written by someone who had given birth to their own children and lived through that experience. However I imagine instead it was heavily researched. The strong writing about this and other subjects is what made the story feel so real, and Pauline so believable.

The direction was perfect for the space, using a limited but functional set (a couch, dressing table and chair and clothes rail), there was just enough to keep Pauline busy and the audience entertained.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Fathers’ Day

The second play I saw was Fathers’ Day.  With an even more minimal set than the first show, the focus was almost completely in one spot. A gaming chair, console and controls – everything needed to depict a gaming set up as well as the cockpit of an actual plane.

The show begins with Joe (El Anthony) playing a flight simulator game and the performance of this was so intense yet completely accurate, the way keen gamers get so focussed on games and tense (and loud) while in the middle of a particularly difficult stage in the game depicted perfectly.

Joe’s ex is not willing to bend their agreed visitation schedule to allow him to see his son on Fathers’ Day.  Joe then seemingly cracks, decides he’s had enough of cleaning planes and that he may as well steal one and go and find his son that way.

This story is enhanced by a number of voice recordings, the stand out of these being Jennifer Aries as Kerry, who connected with Joe most frequently, and helped to flesh out his character through their conversations. The tension continued to be pretty intense through the whole play, but the one thought I did have as for potential development was, maybe the tension levels would remain higher for the viewer if the play was a little shorter.

El Anthony’s performance was exceptional. I definitely want to see him in action again.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

The two plays were very different and yet as a double bill this worked so well as they both centre around relationships between parents and children (amongst others). They both showed strength of creativity in the writing, casting and direction. The contrast was refreshing and meant that both plays were equally as entertaining.

Mothers’ Day and Fathers’ Day are showing at Drayton Arms Theatre until 21 June.

My curtain call photos of this show and others are over on my Instagram.

I was gifted a ticket for these shows in exchange for an honest review.