Review: in defence of adventurous mothers, The Glitch

in defence of adventurous mothers tells the story of siblings Theo (Jack Gray) and Nancy (Lucy Wells) whose mother, an outstanding mountain climber, never returned from her final ascent. As children they must manage their grief under media scrutiny and are left with the continuing impact of their parent’s achievements as they grow up; always judged in relation to her. Theo turns to a life seeking security: becoming a journalist, marrying his childhood sweetheart and shopping in Aldi. Nancy, on the other hand, embraces her own aptitude for climbing, and fills her life with risk, self-absorption and public success.

Simon Marshall‘s play is neatly written, often using a subtly lyrical, emotive tone that draws you in. It raises ideas about difficult themes that challenge the audience, but without ever forcing judgment. There’s the obligation of women to sacrifice personal achievement, looking after family first and seeking their own success second. It questions the role of a father in a familial setting, particularly following a bereavement. Marshall spotlights the negative influences of the media. He beautifully explores the dark places grief can take you to, and these are depicted wonderfully by Gray and Wells in a convincing portrayal of siblings, or multi-roling through numerous touching, relatable events and uncomfortable conflicts. Their characters have real credibility, given warmth by the two actors who manage both tension and casually intimate understanding with ease and clarity.

The play is also packed with unexpected humour that provides real laugh out loud moments, particularly from Gray as Theo, who delivers some delightfully entertaining scenes with a charming panache. Both performers work beautifully to make human connections with the audience, so we’re really rooting for the characters in their separate difficulties.

This is a highly enjoyable show, with engaging writing, excellent performers, and packed full of potential. Director Oli Savage does a commendable job with the space at The Glitch but ultimately it is a basement with two great big pillars in the middle. This is a real shame for this play about mountain climbing because it means the show has (forgive the joke) a big hill to climb to conjure images of mountains and open vistas. There’s some inventive use of the room to depict climbing walls and suggest mountaineering, but it’s by necessity limited. One can only wonder how different this production would be with a high ceiling, where the variable emotional relationships could be enacted with upward and downward movement and risk of falling, instead of peeking around blocks. It’s not helpful either that exiting the stage at a dramatic moment reveals a glimpse of the backstage kitchen, ruining the illusion created.

This production creates a space where accumulating issues surrounding grief, family, success and failure are deposited before escalating vigorously. It asks both where the foot of the mountain of problems is and where the summit is, and it carefully helps audience members to clamber across difficult terrain to reach their own conclusions. Given an appropriate physical space to depict this metaphor, it has potential to reach the heights, and I hope to see it again in a future iteration where it can achieve this.

Written by: Simon Marshall
Directed by: Oli Savage
Produced by: Ellie Shaw
Lighting Design by: Dmitry Bashtanov

in defence of adventurous mothers runs at The Glitch until Monday 4 August.