Jenny Wynter is a Viking Mama on a mission. Her son Olaf (played by a lettuce) is turning three, and she’s planning an impromptu birthday party.
The cosy Judith Wright theatre space is warm and welcoming, the hot pink light illuminating the dazzlingly expectant stage. Victorious battle music bombards the audience, resembling a Monty Pythonesque ‘Holy Grail’ score.
‘Viking Mama’ kicks off with a video of Jenny standing in her kitchen-wearing a bright pink dressing gown, making toast, and staring into the distance. Pink is the obvious theme here, the particular shade giving a strong-willed and feminine feeling. To the left of the stage is her Bearded Pianist. To the right, The Valkyries, played by Betty and the Betties, an all-girl cabaret acapella group who intermittently narrate the show.
The audience is cackling within minutes as Jenny traipses haphazardly onto the stage and introduces her imaginary family (passive-aggressive neighbour, inappropriate grandmother, wishy-washy husband, and uninterested children, all played by Jenny). She describes her party plans with a hilarious array of Viking puns, and the audience is treated to a rendition of Salt n Peppa’s ‘What A Man.’ Jenny hollers, ‘what a mum, what a mum, what a mum, what a bloody shit mum’ – illustrating the stressors of motherhood.
The set is spectacular. A combination of videos and images are used to assist the flow of the narrative, and the stage appears quite large. The screen behind Jenny changes to reflect a Viking ship sailing a stormy sea, creating an expectant feeling as Jenny roars about motherhood. “It’s a war, it’s such a battle... To get up the next day, and do it again… Remember who you are! You’re a Viking!”
The Bearded Pianist and the Valkyries circle Jenny like an operatic arena. The screen behind her changes to reveal ‘husband number three’, as Jenny jokes about his Fjord Falcon and asks if he’d like to see her Volvo. The mood quietens as Jenny sings a solemn ‘Level Headed Warrior’ song, yet rises with ‘Hot Bogan’. Audience members keel over with laughter as she serenades her absent husband (“he’s utterly useless”) with “knock me up on your kitchen floor, I wanna sue you for child support... Come give me a poking, even if you’re smoking!” Then Jenny sits on the edge of the stage, and the air is still as she talks about herself. “All I wanted to do was settle down and find a husband who would love the real me… It turns out the real me is a cow.” These excellent quick scene changes evoke a plethora of mixed feelings about motherhood and marriage.
After a song about the troubles of shopping with children, Jenny is home with her family, singing a hilarious version of Frank Sinatra’s ‘Love And Marriage’: “Burn and pillage, burn and pillage… set fire to the Saxon village,” alluding to what’s to come. Finally, the guests arrive, and Jenny becomes flustered. The stage is a mess, littered with lettuce catapulted by the Betties. Jenny anxiously screams, “I’m all alone in this cave filled with toddlers… let’s do this!” She reveals her homemade birthday cake – which the other mothers (also played by Jenny) turn their noses up at – and delivers a magnificent, unexpectedly violent and twisted climax that leaves audiences gobsmacked.
Here she makes great use of the screen behind her with fiery and destructive images, evoking anger and frustration. Jenny marches forward with humour, wailing, “I can feel it calling in the air tonight!” While her songs are terrific, condensing them would assist the narrative, as at times the story seemed a little unfocussed.
Jenny sits in the centre of the now darkened stage, and delivers the best song of the night. “Did I go too far?” she croons. “Did I cross the line?” The song is a showstopper, but goes on too long. She hilariously calls Odin via Skype, who appears on the screen behind her. “I completely disemboweled a cave filled with toddlers,” she tells him. Odin reassures her, saying motherhood is hard, lifting the mood once again to prepare for the hilarious slideshow of heartfelt photos featuring Jenny enjoying her 'me time'. This warms the audience, and the stage lightens to a pale pink as Jenny brings back the opening number: “it’s a war sometimes just to face another day!”
'Viking Mama’ concludes with an impromptu rap song, which could have been excluded. although Jenny keeps the audience laughing. “If you have a bad day, and you’re gonna, remember who you are – for you’re a Viking Mama!”
‘Viking Mama’ performs the Judith Wright Centre until 7 May.
★★★★☆
