Edinburgh Fringe 2019
My Mum’s a Twat
Anoushka Warden
Genre: Fringe Theatre, One Person Show, Solo Show, Storytelling, True-life
Venue: Summerhall
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
“My mum wasn’t always a twat. But sometime after I turned 10, everything changed. She stopped taking me shopping. She regularly forgot my birthday. And she thought she could heal people.’
After a sold-out run at the Royal Court Theatre in January 2018, Anoushka Warden performs her funny and honest account of losing her mum to a cult in a new version directed by Debbie Hannan. A teen-spirited and gangsta rap fuelled survival guide to growing up with an actual twat for a mum.“
Review
Warden performs a solo show, telling the story of having a Mum who got brain washed into a cult, leaving her behind in the UK as she went to Canada, giving away all her money, her home, her common sense and freedom of choice, to the cult. It’s shocking, and even more shocking to learn that this cult still exists. It is a stark reminder of the impact of cult behaviour on its members and the catastrophic fall out on their families, the damage of which continues for years after.
Warden is dressed as her teenage self, shorts and casual top and trainers and she marches up and down the stage taking us through her story, in her teenage words. Despite most of the show being in this form, and at danger of becoming a little tedious, Warden keeps pushing the story forward enough to keep the audience engaged. Some music is used, although this is not always needed. Warden is funny, and has picked out bittersweet humour from her experiences. This is not a self pitying tragedy, she survived to tell the tale and wants to show us her scars with pride, and maybe to serve as a warning too. She is fascinating to watch as her story unfolds and I am impressed by her bravery and honesty. There is substance in this storytelling and we are taken on an intriguing and incredible journey with her, albeit from the viewpoint of a teenager.
It doesn’t go too deep this show for sure. It stays committed to the teenager who had her heart broken so badly by her Mum. But for a moment, a beautiful short moment, the adult in this story spills through into this dark room in Summerhall. Warden’s eyes glisten and she gulps down water. We start to really see the depth of pain these experiences have had. But then Warden pulls back, and continues marching up and down the stage, bringing out the gangsta rap and finding a way to show she doesn’t care. Because that’s how teenagers cope with impossible emotions. With adults who let them down. Warden keeps this focus to the storytelling, whether the audience want it or not, this is how she is going to tell her story, and that makes it unique and interesting. It has a quiet strength this show that is really only appreciated later, on reflection. Warden doesn’t want the audience to fix it or analyse it, she just wants her teenage voice finally heard.
