Review: HOW BLACK MOTHERS SAY I LOVE YOU at The Great Canadian Theatre Company. Bring your tissues and call your mother!

My mom once said to me "The worst thing that can happen is that they'll say no," that was just one of the many lessons she taught me growing up. There are some lessons that children don't fully understand until they're grown-ups. How Black Mothers Say I Love You talks about these lessons and how they affect us.

Written by the award-winning playwright Trey Anthony, this play tells the story of Daphne, mother of three, she has cancer. During these tough times, her daughter Valerie has been the one taking care of her while dealing with her problems at the same time. When two hands aren't enough to deal with the whole situation Daphne's first daughter Claudette comes back to town without knowing how her life would change forever. During her stay, Claudette has to deal with her conflicted past with her mother. Daphne had left Jamaica and their daughters when they were young to move to Canada to build a better life for them, when Valerie and Claudette they discovered that her mother had remarried and had a new daughter, Chloe. Claudette never forgave her mother, while Valerie just lets it go.

Although the plot might look tense How Black Mothers Say I Love You gave its audience such magical and tender moments that make every audience member remember that families fight, scream, cry and sometimes hate each other but at the end of the day they will be together and connected no matter what. A huge shoutout must be made to the director Kimberley Rampersad; she created such fantastic chemistry between the four characters that makes everyone keep wanting more and more from this family. On the acting side, the performances are just naturally perfect, Daphne played by Lucinda Davis gives you the most hearth breaking performance that it made the entire theatre sob before the first act ended. Claudette played by Malube gives such a relatable performance that made people think about their last fight with their mothers and how they miss them and love them in every single complaint. Valerie played by Samantha Walkes shows this daughter that every family has, she shows how it doesn't matter the hurricane that's outside family is first. Finally, Chloe played by Bénédicte Bélizaire shows everything without saying anything.
How Black Mothers Say I Love You is a play you don't want to miss. The Great Canadian Theatre Company gives you a family drama that will make you appreciate and understand how mothers say I love you.
How Black Mothers Say I Love You runs until March 25th.
Tickets start at $25 and can be purchased at the box office or on the website http://www.gctc.ca/.

Photo Credits: The Great Canadian Theatre Company