Mother at Arts Centre Melbourne
Homeless, broken and fighting with seagulls for food scraps, Christie reflects on the cards she’s been dealt in life that led her to live in an underpass strewn with rubbish. She’s portrayed to brilliant, harrowing effect by renowned actor Noni Hazlehurst AM, whose performance in this play previously garnered her a Matilda Award and critical praise. Now the one-woman show is coming to Arts Centre Melbourne for a limited run.
Mother was written by playwright Daniel Keene specifically for Hazlehurst, who brings a nuanced feistiness, anger, wit, love, self-deprecation and complexity to her portrayal of Christie. The show also sheds light on complex and topical issues like poverty, motherhood, homelessness in middle age and the societal structures that mean women like Christie cannot access the help they need, which results in them living on the street.
Despite the heavy themes and topics, the play also displays a level of tenderness, black humour and lyricism – the result of Keene’s writing, Hazlehurst’s career-defining performance, and the direction of Matt Scholten.
In addition to Hazlehurst’s Matilda Award for Best Female Actor in a Leading Role, the production has also won a Drama Victoria Award and nominations at the Helpmann Awards.
Mother runs for 75 minutes at Arts Centre Melbourne’s Fairfax Studio.
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