Theatre review: Mother, Arts Centre Melbourne

Noni Hazlehurst delivers a performance that is worlds away from her beloved TV persona in Daniel Keene’s Mother, a one-woman show about Christie – an unhoused woman from the Baby Boomer generation living in Melbourne. As Christie moves between crisis accommodation, makeshift dwellings in public spaces and a grandiose church, she reminisces about time spent with her son when he was a newborn. 

It’s clear from the outset that Mother is a well-oiled, self-assured production. Under director Matt Scholten, the creative team work in harmony to provide Hazlehurst with the best canvas possible to explore the character of Christie. Kat Chan shows great attention to detail in her costuming, the dirt on Christie’s feet caked on and wound through her toes. Darius Kedros’ sound design thoughtfully creates a sense of each place Christie inhabits while also responding to her emotional state. 

As it’s a solo performance it may seem redundant to say Hazlehurst is the driving force of Mother, but it is her interpretation of Christie that makes the production worthwhile viewing. Christie feels well lived in, as if audiences watching this Melbourne run get to enjoy intricacies Hazlehurst has woven into the performance over the years the production has been touring. Her vocal work is impeccable. She nails the inflections, vowels and rough tone associated with white ocker Australians of the Baby Boomer generation.

Hazlehurst presents a sophisticated and considerate character study of Christie – a woman with a stiff upper lip using wry humour to both engage with the world and protect herself from the inner turmoil ready to seep through her defences at a moment’s notice. 

Keene provides Hazlehurst with an authentic character voice, fantastic moments of storytelling and witty one-liners. However, Mother’s attempt to present such a vulnerable group – unhoused older women – with care and respect falls flat. Keene doesn’t provide Christie’s monologue with enough introspection to explore why she is unhoused, leaving only one clear reason – addiction. This is a well-worn stereotype that sidesteps the range of systemic factors leading older women to become the fastest growing group of people experiencing housing insecurity in Australia.

But this is a tiny niggling frustration in comparison to the narrative’s climax, which depicts mothers experiencing addiction as a danger to their children. This is a cruel note to end on that contradicts the reality of violence children experience and works against the production’s previous 60 minutes, which have aimed to chip away at the contempt and dehumanisation unhoused people experience.

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Hazlehurst’s performance, so striking and robust, rises above the narrative missteps and provides audiences with a faultless character study to enjoy.

Mother by Daniel Keene
Arts Centre Melbourne
Director: Matt Scholten
Costume, Set, Props: Kat Chen
Sound designer: Darius Kedros
Lighting designer: Tim Willis
Cast: Noni Hazlehurst

Tickets: $79-89

Mother will be performed until 21 September 2024.