Comedian and writer Anna Morris writes and stars in this one-woman, Fringe-First winning, dramedy play about a mother going viral after calling her four year old son the c-word. Immaculate and fast-paced, this one-hour long play explores the hardships of motherhood, and the infuriating combination of both loving and resenting your child.
10 seconds and seven words – that’s all it takes for Marnie’s (Anna Morris) life to slowly fall apart after she’s recorded having a turbulence-and-red-wine induced meltdown at her son, mid-air, on a flight back from Dubai. The video, taken in a flash, spreads overnight, spilling into Marnie’s life; affecting the other parent’s treatment of her at nursery, her business, her relationship. Parallels form – the overwhelming, life changing and irreversible affects of the video aren’t dissimilar to that of a child on a woman’s life.
Morris is fantastic and doesn’t waste a minute, crafting characters and moments that transport you effortlessly to different places and life stages, the hour flies by. One minute, Morris is a twenty-something chain-smoking posh house mate in Camden, the next, a bashful hinge match on a first date, the next, gasping for air from the pressure of motherhood. Moments of lighthearted humour – shown through Morris’ warm affable depiction of Marnie’s parents were perfect antidotes to the harder themes.
Image: Steve Gregson
Son of a B*tch takes you on a journey of one woman’s bad day, peppered with flashbacks that show us the moments leading up to it making it undoubtedly inevitable; the ‘decision’ to have children, quitting a carefree lifestyle, becoming isolated from friends and ultimately the double standards of sharing parenthood and what it means to be a mother.
You can catch Son of a B*tch from Tues-Sat 4-15 March @ 3:00, 7:30 PM, Southwark Playhouse, Borough, London.
