Review: Dead Mom Play, Union Theatre

Dead Mom Play invites the audience into ‘Charlie’s play’ in which he explores everything but his grief for his dead mum. Accompanied by Death and his terminally ill mum, grief is always there with him. Charlie cannot escape it, just as he cannot escape this play of his own creation. 

The show explores the first four phases of grief in a constant cycle until arriving at the final phase, acceptance, with comedic and heart-wrenching moments. These phases and themes are easily recognisable in the characters’ actions and words, allowing the audience to understand and sometimes relate. There is a meta-theatrical element to the show, as the audience is seeing a play within a play. It explores part of the creative process, higher artistic aspirations and the emotional dependence that artists may develop in moments of emotional distress. Charlie’s unencountered grief keeps the play going around in circles. 

Ben Blais, writer and director, delivers a one-of-a-kind show. The script is fast, full of wit and very snarky. Moments of true vulnerability and emotional breakdowns remind the audience what they are truly seeing: a boy in full denial of his grief. The way Blais utilises the stage and props, and choreographs the actors’ entrances and movements, adds to the fast pace of the script. The show takes the audience wonderfully from one point to the other without letting them breathe until it is forced to stop and accept it all, almost as if trying to outrun a certain truth. 

The three actors on stage do a fantastic job of rising to the challenge of the script and delivering perfectly timed lines and raw emotion. Griffyn Bellah, who plays Charlie, perfectly enunciates some of the fastest dialogue I’ve recently heard, all while imbuing it with a vast and constantly changing range of emotions. Hannah Harquart, who plays the mum, manages to show the different characteristics of a working mom and a terminal patient. Joe Bellis, who plays Death, serves as a comedic presence that lightens up the mood when needed, as well as highlighting the direness of it all. This is a powerful play that resonates deeply with anyone that has ever lost a loved one, especially at a young age—Charlie is only eighteen. Grief is a universal experience, and Dead Mom Play explores it with an open heart. It’s a play for those who have passed and those who are left behind.

Writer & Director: Ben Blais
Lighting Director:  Jess Brigham

Dead Mom Play plays at The Union Theatre until Thursday 17 April.