Review: OZASIA FESTIVAL 2017: RECALLING MOTHER at Space Theatre, Adelaide Festival Centre

Reviewed by Barry Lenny, Saturday 23rd September 2017.

Friends, Claire Wong and Noorlinah Mohamed, would talk and, during their conversations, they spoke of their mothers. From telling their stories to one another they developed a script that would enable them to tell the stories to audiences in their production, Recalling Mother. Over the years, since its first iteration in 2006, the performance has evolved and been updated a number of times and now includes, if you wish to stay, a post-performance chance to join the conversation.

Within the performance the pair talk to one another providing links between telling their own stories, the stories of their mothers, Mohamed was adopted and Wong came from a large family, and discussing their relationships which, of course, brings up the huge generation gap. A mother who cannot read and a daughter with a master's degree who is fluent with modern technology is a huge difference.

They play their own mothers and each other's mothers as they re-enact moments of their lives, in the early stages of the production finding a great deal of humour in their relationships. Over time, particularly with Mohamed's mother suffering dementia, the segments become more poignant.

The performance includes dance, physical performance, recorded voices, projected photographs and videos, yet the set is very simple, a stage area and a backdrop, each with a chevron shaped pattern, and two wooden kitchen chairs, with an effective lighting plot.

Although this is based on a pair of very personal stories, there is much that will resound with everybody, mother, daughter, father, or son; we all have relationships within our families. Although Wong's mother speaks only Cantonese, and Mohamed's mother speaks only Malay, surtitles are used for the benefit of audience members who speak only English. This is a touching and moving production, superbly performed by these two daughters who show us their love and respect for their mothers.

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