This is a simply exquisite performance by an Australian entertainment legend.
For an hour and 15 minutes Noni Hazlehurst plays the role of Christie, a ruined woman living on the streets of Melbourne. She rummages through rubbish and rummages through her mind out loud, letting the audience in on her past and what happened in order for her to get where she is now.
'Mother' is a one-woman show that is not only captivating but also extremely important. It's a portrait filled with truth; a window into a very real world that is too often ignored.
In the post-show function, the show's director Matt Scholten made a comment about the media and news working in the genre of horror when it comes to current events and affairs. This can be said for the issue of homelessness and in 'Mother', to counteract this, we're simply shown a human going through a real struggle and watching her as she sorts through her life.
It couldn't be more true to say that Noni genuinely disappears into this role. At times I had to remind myself this woman was reading lines from a script on a stage... It is that convincing. The role was written for her after all, so Daniel Keene must have known that Noni could take it on.
And take it on she does. There is cutting anger (her booming voice makes audience members jump), deep sadness and real heart. She flicks through a plethora of emotions as she recounts ups and downs and at points even makes genuinely funny jokes that shatter the wall of tension built up by the character herself.
'Mother' sheds a light on something happening on the streets of Australia daily. Theatre doesn't need to change the world's view on things but it is productions such as this which remind us that it can.
★★★★★
