CityLife

Motherland

Motherland
Library Theatre
October 6, 2009

COUNTLESS plays explore troops’ experiences during wartime, but the voices of the loved ones they leave behind remain curiously absent.

Women with relatives in Iraq and Afghanistan are the subject of Motherland, a searing yet understated production by Newcastle based Live Theatre.

Sixteen poignant true stories are retold, selected from hundreds of hours of recordings with people who had children or partners sent to conflicts, but despite the grim subject matter the production is often surprisingly funny.

Hope

Four female actors recount memories good and bad – accounts of little boys play fighting, fumbling through first dates or passing out as fully fledged soldiers are woven between harrowing accounts.

There’s giggly teenager Nikki, unsure of the difference between the SAS and the RAF but nevertheless shocked when her boyfriend is sent to Basra instead of Cyprus.

Faith healer Elizabeth speaks about harnessing energy and is filled with hope for her own son’s future – even as she recounts how the brutal death of his friend, and two pals recall fond memories of meeting their soldier spouses on a riotous teenage package holiday.

Sensitivity and humour

Painstakingly researched, Motherland offers an unusually profound insight into the lives of women seen fleetingly in news reports each time a new casualty is announced.

Avoiding overt political statements, it nevertheless touches on important concerns about dodgy equipment and the low age of conscription. The set is simple – women sit on crates and battered suitcases, dressed in tracksuits or jeans and clutching mugs of tea, with the proceedings enlivened by occasional video projections.

At 78 minutes, it could have been unwatchable, but the mix of stories, delivered with sensitivity and humour, pack a punch without being mawkish. Stoical, defensive, dreading each knock at the door, these women deserve to be heard.