REVIEW: MOTHERLOAD! by Urban Foxes Collective at The Rosemary Branch 11/12 March and touring

An exceptional performance ultimately marred by an uneven script ★★★ 1/2

MOTHERLOAD! is a roller-coaster of a play, veering wildly from a studied lecture on climate change to impromptu dance numbers and even an explosive episode with a condom. Unfortunately, the script can’t quite ground these eye-catching visuals and at the end of the day the audience is left with a production carried by an exceptional performance, but ultimately marred by an uneven script.

The setup is that Mother Nature is making a last ditch effort to convince us to stop destroying both her and ourselves through what she hopes will finally reach us; a TED talk fully supported by a meme-heavy Power Point Presentation. While an initially straightforward premise, things soon go off the rails as Mother Nature begins recalling past harmonies in our co-existence, with the Power Point itself becoming progressively glitchy and, seemingly, haunted.

This is a one-woman show through and through, and for any solo show to succeed the performer must fill the entire stage by themselves, seamlessly portraying multiple character dynamics on they fly, which Elena Voce does magnificently. Initially grating as a hunched over, finger-wagging public speaker, Mother Nature turns sultry in an instant as she re-enacts the (messy) miracle of creation before just as quickly becoming a cooing and nurturing mother who only wants the best for her prodigal children, never missing a beat in the process.

Speaking of those prodigal children the play features regular improvisational crowd work, where Voce effortlessly plucks audience members to join her on stage. What could have been an invitation to disaster is performed impeccably, Voce expertly incorporating her unwitting volunteers into whatever madness the next section holds despite their stage-fright or mischievous instincts, always in control and always achieving entertaining engagement from her temporary co-stars.

The downside to all this is that for all the fun of Voce’s performance, it often fails to land deeper points. The distinct sections of the play all feel like separate vignettes that fail to coalesce toward a common theme. Mother Nature herself remains a confused metaphor throughout; the character is direct and effective when it comes to being the mother of all life who suffers physical scars from human activity (communicated powerfully through the detailed costumes), but jarringly anthropomorphized and un-engaging when citing statistics or decrying supposed limits on biology as social constructs.

Additionally, the climax of the play feels abrupt and underwhelming. Just as the audience is corralled into agreeing that they will all try better for Mother Nature’s sake, suddenly Mother Nature herself is drowned out by a cacophony of music and snippets of pop culture, implying that despite our best intentions the human race will simply be too hedonistic and distracted to tackle the solutions necessary for saving our planet. While perhaps an accurate reflection of reality, this theme has scant support from the rest of the play and feels almost entirely out of left-field. It’s unfortunate, but with a hint more cohesion in its plot this could be a real masterpiece; as it is MOTHERLOAD! is a fun ride to catch, just don’t expect to have much to mull over afterwards.

MOTHERLOAD! Rosemary Branch Theatre 11/12 March

Written by Elena Voce

Urban Foxes Collective  https://www.urbanfoxescollective.com/motherload

Reviewed by Harry Conway