Review: My Mum's A Twat, Royal Court - my first five star play of 2018?
13/01/2018
Patsy Ferran’s ‘girl’ is sat in the corner playing a mini Casio keyboard. She says ‘hello’ to me and I go and sit on a red bean bag on the turquoise coloured carpet.
We are in a kids bedroom - not a surreal dream but the set of Anoushka Warden's play My Mum's A Twat. The furniture has glittery stickers on it, there's a shelf of Troll dolls, photos and pictures stuck to the walls.
This room, ironically, becomes a marker for the end of innocent childhood a time before the divorce and marriage to ‘moron’ lead her Mum into a ‘healing’ cult and a journey of estrangement and conflict between mother and daughter.
Patsy Ferran’s girl tells the story bubbling with defiance, resourcefulness and sassiness. You can imagine the pursed lips of the adults in her life.
Her tale unfolds through the prism of child then teen logic but while there is no abuse or great cruelty the perceived emotional abandonment by her Mum smacks hard and there are hints of the pain it causes.
We are transported swiftly from the ‘healing centre’ of her mother’s cult to Canada and back again with effervescent energy, colour and wit but in the still moments the hurt that ripples to the surface is all the more powerful.
My Mum’s A Twat is a spirited, funny play with darkness at its edges and I loved it for that. And I loved Patsy Ferran in it. Can’t wait to see her in Summer and Smoke at the Almeida next month.
The play is an hour and 20 minutes without an interval. It’s in the Jerwood Upstairs at the Royal Court with unallocated seating - there are chairs to sit on as well as bean bags but the bean bags are rather fun.
Is it a five star play? I think it is. You can see it until January 20. £10 day seats available on Mondays more details on the Royal Court website.