With an almost capacity Quay’s theatre audience on a freezing Thursday evening landed a 3 night run of the touring production of Emily Beecher’s ‘The Good Enough Mums Club’. A new musical inspired by stories of motherhood, its challenges and modern day battles of being perfect in an imperfect world and discovering that not being perfect is good enough. The show’s appeal is that it resonates with anyone who is a mother, has a mother, wants to be a mother or knows a mother.
The show’s notes proudly proclaim, “In creating The Good Enough Mums Club, we wanted to share our stories of being mums and to communicate the message of hope and acceptance we’ve discovered, born out of some of the darkest experiences of early motherhood. We recognise that every mum has their own story and we hope the production is a celebration of the ordinary things that make all mums extraordinary.” Emily, Sarah & Jade, Founding Mothers.
From the start we knew that we were going to be experiencing something raw, authentic and true but I was surprised how funny Beecher’s writing had made it. The show has been ten years' in the making based on her own experience of post-natal depression and the little heard of post-natal psychosis. Whilst receiving psychiatric treatment for her illness, Beecher’s therapist suggested she journal her experiences with her daughter Maisie and 'The Good Enough Mums Club' was born in 2014. It first began as a community workshop then as a touring concert to become the full musical which it is
now. The production team have collected stories from a wide range of people and places to represent motherhood truthfully and accurately.
When the local Council threatens to close their local playgroup, five women thrown together by motherhood, overcome their isolation, loneliness, diversity, backgrounds and home lives to bond and connect as mothers. The show carefully colours in all the characters and their backstories and through-lines to make them authentic. I was soon absorbed into the narrative after a tongue-in-cheek ‘Cell Block Tango’ pastiche number of conception to birth. All five actresses showed their diversity in background, birthing styles and experiences. Something that most women can connect to. Every week, the five women led by Bea: organiser, leader and anchor despite her own life floating away with an absent, professional husband. Middle class, Instagram-obsessed and tangibly dangerously close to not being in control. Her weekly foray into an educational focus was hilarious with Music Week and Phonics Week and my favourite World Book Day as she tried to pull everyone together when they were already together entwined by shared experience. Same. Yet different.
With music and arrangement by Verity and MD Debbi Clark’s musical direction the show had a new, fresh and entertaining score and lyrics to reflect the story. The livelier numbers stood out more particularly: ‘Everything has changed apart from my nose’ (or similar) about the change to our bodies due to birthing children and the audience participation song ‘Head and shoulders, knees and t***’. It was very entertaining musically and all the cast had beautiful voices and filled the smaller, Quays theatre. Sound was excellent too and there was a perfect balance between singers and players. I would have liked a clearer ending to some of the slower numbers as it wasn’t always obvious if to clap or not.
Co-directors Sarah Meadows and Michelle Payne had squeezed out every ounce of pathos and humour they could get their hands on but were facilitated by an extremely talented cast who suited their parts so very well: Bea, (Joanna Kirkland), the bossy middle class, tireless, organised one. Chantel (Jade Samuels), the outgoing, confident, always ready to go OUT OUT one. Sophie (Amy Ross), the positive, enthusiastic one. Esme (Belinda Wollaston), the quiet listener one who will always help one' and Michelle (Rebecca Bernice Amissah), the strong, bold, protective one who stands up for herself and others one. Of course, this is an oversimplification of characters as they share their stories and their webs interweave but pushing to the conclusion of community and connection is what keeps people and places together. Thinking, acting, supporting and believing then overcoming. The council does close their playgroup’s home but they do get a new space. And, I optimistically believed that it would be a success with those five in charge, driving it.
The connection between the five actresses really shone through vocally and through their acting. It was a poignant reminder of standing up for ourselves as women but also having other women’s backs and not judging each other. Remember 'The Good Enough Mums Club' oath which we all solemnly swore towards the end of the show ‘I will not tut at another mum’. Being good enough is indeed good enough.
A highly enjoyable evening at The Lowry enjoying something new, different and special. Of course there were little things that need ironing out. The end of act one needs smoothing to a more dramatic halt. But, overall, that’s small trifles when the show has plenty of flesh on its bones already. The mainstay it being so hilariously funny. When Bea inspected the other mum’s World Book Day costumes on a runway and challenged them in disdain for not being actual book characters really tickled me. Chantel’s sexy Chase from Paw Patrol was genius. Followed by The Rug Rats segue as the adult actresses regressed to acting as their toddlers; judging their mums and plotting how to baby manipulate them for attention was a very clever aside. There were many highlights to this show and I am sure that it will become a very popular touring musical.
Reviewers - Kathryn Gorton and Sue Cooper
on - 30.11.23
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