REVIEW: Yellow Things: (mis)adventures into motherhood at Bridge House Theatre, 16 - 26 April 2025
'two acts come together to give a fuller image of motherhood' ★★★★ 1/2
Mum. Mom. Mummy. Mother! Interspersed in the first act are the playful voices of children who convert a woman into a mother, a role not to be taken lightly, and one that forever transforms said woman. Those recordings give insight into not just childhood and play, but what it means to be a mother.
In Mothers Have Nine Lives, the characters (performed with versatility by Becky Lumb, Mira Morrison, Ellie Ward) share their different yet relatable stories as riveting monologues. Each comes from different experiences of motherhood: of personal expectations to financial resources to ways of becoming a mother.
Louise clears away toys while she asks herself, through others’ telling questions, whether she wants to be a mother. Gina, a single mother of two under two, seeks freedom through trying to acquire a double buggy she can’t afford, while posh Margaret grasps onto work and passes on actual mothering (a great satire). Wendy lovingly becomes a mother through adoption and worries about her own mortality. Kim’s two little girls (comically) keep her busy between what one wants to eat and the other wants to wear. Katherine has high aspirations for her daughter, and vicariously for herself. Mia compares having a daughter and son and their ability to communicate, while Helen’s son and daughter are hard to get time to spend with during the holidays.
The three actors impressively switch accents, attitudes, and attire to take us on this journey. What these diverse stories have in common is that being a mother is so tied up in another’s needs and wants that it can confuse the individual’s desires. Each piece could possibly become its own expanded play and yet, the brevity of each story imprints a certain lingering poignancy.
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In the second act, Yellow Wallpaper, the ever impressive Becky Lumb is given the stage to take on the 1892 short story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, beautifully and deftly adapted by Ellie Ward.
The original short story is surprising in how well it shows the impact of the ‘baby blues’ but this 30-minute piece modernises and takes it further. Lumb convincingly takes us into the mind of a woman who has been kept inside a grand house for her 'own good', and presumably the baby’s. The white cot used lovingly, protectively in the previous act has become something of a cage on the stage, which she stands behind as she descends into a kind of madness; and smoothly switches to calmly tell the story of how she got to this point while sitting and advising a stuffed doll. She is captivating.
The lighting and projections (Luke Adamson) of the eponymous wallpaper add immensely to the sense of eeriness, and give gravity to the situation of the woman’s mental decline.
Baby blues (now postnatal depression) has now been given a new name and in recent years has more awareness (perhaps not enough). Yet more stories of motherhood should reach the stage and this piece demonstrates how compelling it can be.
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In recent years, we have seen an increase in the conversation around motherhood on stage, though perhaps not enough. In this production, with its (baby) blues and (wallpaper)yellows, these two acts come together to give a fuller image of motherhood: the fervent love, the fear, disappointment, the hope, the messiness, the struggles, the loneliness, desperation, imperfection, and yes, even the joy. Yellow Things couples these two acts in a way that gives a full picture of the vicissitudes of motherhood without making the viewer afraid of being called mother. Or Mum or Mummy.
Written by Joanna Borland / Charlotte Perkins Gilman, adapted by Ellie Ward
Performed by Becky Lumb, Mira Morrison, Ellie Ward
Directed by Ellie Ward
Produced by Ellie Ward
Lighting Designer: Luke Adamson
