Eve Ruck on Shall I Be Mother?
August really is a busy month. While many eyes turn to Edinburgh, back in London much of the attention is on Camden Fringe. But this year The Hope Theatre is doing its own thing; North Sapph-Fest, a bold new festival celebrating queer women & non-binary voices. You can fid out what’s playing here, while here at ET we’re hoping to publish interviews with a few of this year’s participants, so watch out for these over the next couple of weeks.
In the landscape of queer historical storytelling, the vital, boots-on-the-ground advocacy of lesbians during the height of the AIDS crisis remains a profoundly underrepresented chapter. Writer Eve Ruck is shifting that narrative with Shall I Be Mother?, an unsanitised, heartfelt, and hilarious portrait of unlikely friendship and redemption debuting at North Sapph Fest this August. We spoke with Eve about the five-year journey from screen to stage, creating dynamic art with zero budget, and why bringing this story to light in 2026 is more crucial than ever.
If you had to describe the vibe of your show in just one sentence, what would it be and how does that manifest on stage?
Heartfelt and hilarious, Shall I Be Mother? is an unsanitised portrait of unlikely friendship and redemption in the thick of the AIDS crisis.
Why is 2026 the perfect time for this show to be seen?
There are so many brilliant and beautiful stories that have been told about the darkest chapter in queer history; It’s a Sin, Pose, Buddies, Rent, Angels in America, but very few that seek to show the vital and deeply human work of lesbians during the AIDS crisis. Shall I Be Mother? is intended to shine a light on the lesbian advocacy for those suffering with AIDS at the height of stigma and bigotry. This story, and the true history inspiring it, is perfect to see in 2026 as we navigate a country that is beginning to roll back on queer rights and remind ourselves that sometimes the most powerful engine for change is everyday, human compassion.
As this is the festival’s first year, what was it that made you want to be part of it?
The story of Shall I Be Mother? is that of lesbians at the very front lines of AIDS activism, so it makes perfect sense to place it in a festival that is the avant-garde of giving a platform to theatre makers such as myself. Even within the LGBTQIA+ community, lesbians and non-binary people are voices which are often spoken over or entirely ignored. As a writer who falls into both those identities, having Shall I Be Mother? take to the stage feels very much like being heard, especially now, seeing the beautiful, broad, and brilliant spectrum of amazing queer art we get to be in the ranks of.
What was the ‘eureka moment’ that made you realise this story had to be told right now?
The idea started back in 2021 with a singular scene that I was desperate to find a way of reaching. Initially, I set the concept down as a TV pilot pitch for my master’s in screenwriting and ended up writing it out as a feature film for my dissertation. The story then focused on a young woman coming out and running away from a marriage; a very different protagonist from the play now, and it never felt quite right. Ever since, I’ve written countless versions for screen in which the characters simply refused to click, until my friend (and now cast member) Tom Homer let me know about the Old Joint Stock scratch nights in Birmingham.
I figured after five years I’d give the idea one last go as a play, going back to my roots in theatre, and then all of a sudden the characters appeared. Furthermore, as part of the scratch night, OJS put together the show’s team; Tom Homer, Catherine Grimhilde, and Edmund Smith completing the cast, with Alan Magor directing, and they just so happened to strike gold! Even in a 20-minute scratch performance, what the actors and director were able to mine out of the script elevated it higher than I ever could’ve hoped for, and it’s one of the biggest reasons I am so excited to be working with this specific team again for North Sapph Fest.
Being fringe and a festival, we all know sets have to be minimal. How have you got around this?
As a working-class creative, I have had a grand total of zero money to put into the show, so from the get-go it’s been about how to achieve the most with the least. When writing Shall I Be Mother?, I decided early on for the entire play to take place in one room so the set could be static and made up of pieces we could easily beg, borrow, and steal. This early decision deeply helped shape the play for the better. By concentrating all of the action in the enclosed space of a hospital room, it naturally pushed the characters to fill that space with their baggage, hang-ups, and hopes, making for a much more dynamic play than I’d initially conceived.
Are there any plans for what comes next after the show has finished its run?
My only hope is that the show has a future, in whatever way, shape, or form that takes. We’ve got a brilliant team and an important story to tell. I’d just love to keep telling it.
If your show was a love letter, who or what would it be for?
I hope that while watching the play it is obvious that Shall I Be Mother? is a love letter to all the queer people who came before me and an acknowledgement of their struggle. In 2025 I married my wife, and we will be beginning our journey to parenthood in the next two years through the NHS. Throughout our relationship, we have been accepted by family and friends. None of my life would be remotely possible without the people who came before and exhibited a level of bravery that is hard to comprehend. In this vein, telling the story of lesbian advocacy during the AIDS crisis, an intimate form of activism that is so often forgotten, is deeply important in helping to understand the rifts and conflicts that still echo today in the LGBTQIA+ community.
Write a one-sentence “fake” review of the show from someone.
“Awful, queer drivel. I hated every second of this. Truly affronting material to the upstanding, traditional British people.” — The summoned ghost of Margaret Thatcher
What’s the most valuable piece of advice you’ve received during your career, and how has it influenced your work on this show?
Write unlikeable characters. One of the biggest issues when developing the story for the past five years was cracking the character of Eunice. Every time I sat down to write her, she appeared on the page as this perfect, angelic, maternal figure with no flaws and nothing to learn, and as a consequence, was incredibly boring to write. The very second I decided that Eunice wasn’t going to be this flawless activist, but a three-dimensional woman whose motivations are not all pure and selfless, she became an utter joy to write. Watching Catherine Grimhilde bring such zest and energy to the character was stunning to witness, and I’m very excited to see what she does with this longer-form script.
Many thanks to Eve for the chat. Shall I Be Mother? plays at The Hope Theatre on Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 August as part of North Sapph Fest.
