Review: Fickle Eulogy, The Hope Theatre

It’s an hour before the guests arrive and Ann is still working on the eulogy with help, or maybe hindrance, from her trusty Alexa and its Eulogy App. Writing such a thing is difficult at the best of times, but what about when you are still filled with anger that your mum died too soon, and her death was avoidable? Well, the eulogy is going to take a little more work.

Fickle Eulogy is a loving tribute to motherhood, full of the usual anecdotes you expect to hear a daughter share about her mum, along with the regrets; not visiting enough, not always sharing what she was doing in life enough, certainly not calling enough. But there’s something else; an anger about her mum’s death, even an anger at her mum, that threatens to taint it all. Why? Because her mum died of COVID. And yes, many died but her mum’s death was perhaps preventable. Because she was a COVID denier, convinced it was all a conspiracy to control the masses, and as such refused the vaccine.  So, it’s little wonder Ann is struggling to say all what she wants to say, because you really can’t say bad things in a eulogy can you?

Fickle Eulogy is utterly beautiful throughout. It finds a suitable balance between presenting mum as a wonderful person, even whilst acknowledging the elephant in the room. We see COVID deniers as loons, far right conspiracists and unhinged, yet here we are presented with someone who could be our own mother in so many ways; she is sweet, loving, caring, but with one small aspect that threatens to overshadow all of that. Yet writer/ performer Nikol Kollars handles it to near perfection, never letting that one piece dominate everything that is good. 

There’s also amiable, gently humour, with Alexa and the imaginary Eulogy App fully utilised to soften the edges, and a moment of lightness never far away whenever it feels as if the darkness will fill the room. Alexa’s chiding about words which are unacceptable for a eulogy, whenever Ann swears, or calling out a hardening of her voice, is a clever device to bring us back into the light. 

The simple staging, with Kollars delivering her speech from between two chairs and boxes, allows her to bring in costume and props quickly and smoothly, to maintain the flow. Each prop and its placement have clearly been thoroughly considered, and nothing is wasted. 

For a show that could have allowed the reason for her mum’s death to dominate entirely, instead Kollars makes us see her mum for everything else that she was; something that must be hard to do when you are still grieving their loss, still angry about the lost years they could have had together. Many theatres actively avoid putting on shows about Covid, believing that we really don’t need reminding, but in Fickle Eulogy, much as in her mum’s life, Covid and the refusal to be vaccinated are a small part of the story. Rather, this is a lovely tribute not just to Kollars’ mum, but to every mother taken from her daughters. 

Written by: Nikol Kollars
Directed by: Javier Galitó-Cava
Produced by: La Nix Productions

You can read more about this show in our recent interview here.
Fickle Eulogy plays at The Hope Theatre until Monday 18 August.