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Like Mother, Like Daughter

  • Theatre, Off-West End
  • 3 out of 5 stars
  • Recommended
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Time Out says

3 out of 5 stars

Real mothers and real daughters voice their viewpoints, concerns and wishes in this sweet subtle piece.

The saying goes that we daughters all eventually turn into our mums. This subtle, low-key piece created and performed by four mothers and daughters finally proves that cliché to be a load of old cobblers.

Created by Complicite’s creative learning department and Why Not Theatre, ‘Like Mother, Like Daughter’ takes the form of a slightly directed informal conversation. The audience eavesdrop on a question and answer session between actual mums and daughters; women who responded to a call-out for participants (no actors here). It’s not really a play and has more than an echo of a group sharing exercise.

But ‘Like Mother, Like Daughter’ doesn’t feel like an excruciating therapy meeting. There’s not a lot of drama to the evening, but it is engrossing. Questions range from ‘Why do people go to the theatre?’ to ‘Why was I such a difficult baby?’ and ‘Why is it important to have faith’. All the questions are answered spontaneously on the night, so each evening there’s new answers and new sets of mothers and daughters. Occasionally there are awkward pauses, flippant responses, but there are also some touching and personal ones. One of the women wished her mother was more open with her feelings, while in another moment a mother berates her daughter for not appreciating her cooking.

The night I saw it there weren’t any non-believers, which felt unbalanced when the questions about religion and faith came up. The round-the-table-for-a-chat set-up was also a little contrived. But what comes through by the end of this piece is a sense of inheritance and difference; how we become who we are and how we pass on our experience. This show demonstrates that, rather than shaping their daughters, these mothers enable them to become whoever they want.

Afterwards, the whole audience sits down for a meal created from recipes shared by the mothers and daughters and it’s delicious. A wholesome, enriching end to a touching evening. 

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£15, £12 concs
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