Mother/SON

A son who has just come through a long struggle to accept his own homosexuality begins a new struggle to gain the acceptance of his disbelieving mum in this moving play by New York-based writer/performer Jeffrey Solomon.

Mother/SON is being presented as part of the Midsumma Festival at Theatre Works, which is an annual celebration of queer culture. It’s being packaged with two other plays under the banner, Men at Work, focused on three very different male performers.

Solomon’s performance as both the son, Bradley, AND his mother is beautifully controlled and seamless. While this mother has all the traits of the overbearing, smothering Jewish mum – so familiar to us through US sitcoms and movies – he manages to make her real, lifting her above caricature. He uses simple gestures to switch from Bradley to the mother, most notably placing a hand upon his chest in that delicate, modest manner of certain women. It’s all Solomon needs to get into character, and it’s a gesture that comes to have a deeper meaning at the end of the play.

What is also impressive about Mother/SON is the writing. Solomon has created a subtle but straightforward script that allows the audience to feel part of a very personal relationship between two people. He blends humour with genuinely touching and painful moments. A scene where Bradley goes to a doctor for a HIV test, and waits for the result, had me gripping the side of my chair. Seeing his bare arm exposed, and hearing his tentative attempts to calm himself down while he waited, was excruciating. The scenes in which the mother walks into the local branch of a self-help group for the parents of gay children and, later, a gay bar, are funny and sweet.

This is a tour de force performance, and a great choice for anyone who wants to check out Midsumma but is put off by some of the more ‘in your face’ shows. Bradley happens to be gay, but his and his mother’s experiences are universal. The play never lectures its audiences about politics, preferring to focus on the great, lifelong love between a parent and a child.

Sara Bannister

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