'Me, Mum And The Patriarchy' is a powerful one-woman show which takes the audience on a roller-coaster journey, moving seamlessly between heavy drama and comedy, as Keely Lane presents a semi-autobiographical take on growing up into womanhood in a South Yorkshire town. The play is daring in its uncompromising portrayal of many aspects of life from a female perspective and whilst having its tragic or shocking moments, never descends into self-pitying sentimentality or pathos. There is an all too real edge to the story which is ultimately both positive and uplifting. It is also, in many places, extremely funny.
Keeley Lane has packed a lot of life into a tight one hour show which has a lot of physicality in the performance, inviting the audience to really engage with both laughter and empathy. The acting is a real tour-de-force of wide ranging emotions which come over with genuine feeling and credibility. There is a strong feminist slant but this emanates largely from unwanted life experiences, including domestic abuse and sexual harassment. Fortunately, the show is certainly not anti-men (in fact, often very much the opposite!) and most definitely is not a rant. Above all, it is a very personal journey covering the lives of Keeley, her mother and her grandmother but it also succeeds in drawing attention to wider issues which for so long have been typical and often-as-not, unspoken experiences for many, if not most, women.
There is a lot more to 'Me, Mum And The Patriarchy' than just feminist issues, including looking at the kind of choices most of us have to make at some time or other and how our lives are often shaped by circumstances over which we have no control. Much of the comedy comes from personal observations which we can all relate to regardless of gender. There is an element of life being seen here from the perspective of a somewhat inward-looking Yorkshire town but the issues covered are relevant across society and geography, as evidenced by the current highly-publicised allegations against certain leading businessmen and Hollywood producers.
Finally, credit must be given to Samantha Robinson for superb direction and dramaturgy. This is a very slick production and use of minimalist costume devises and props works very well in both presenting a personal world image and moving the tale along, together with ample use of all the available stage space. If the intention was to leave the audience thinking about what they have seen and heard, 'Me, Mum And The Patriarchy' succeeds admirably; a funny and poignant show which is very relevant.
Mum and The Patriarchy is written and performed by Keeley Lane and directed by Samantha Robinson, and is next on at the Tristan Bates Theatre, London from 4th to 7th December.
Reviewer - John Waterhouse
on - 6/11/18
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