Simon Ward reviews Mother.Dad at the Omnibus Theatre

This two-hander comprises the narration of two, apparently unrelated, stories by ‘Him’ (Andy Sellers) and ‘Her’ (Toyin Ayedun-Alase), and is performed with utter conviction. Playwright Doug Deans’ writing manages to convey a panoramic overview of life in Britain today, but, more than that, it is a meditation on what it is to live a good life, one’s ‘best life’, when so much of what happens to us is down to sheer dumb luck.

We first meet ‘Her’ in her role as nightclub bouncer, as she is expertly dealing with a hen-do crisis, holding bride-to-be Alice in Wonderland’s hair back so she can be sick. ‘He’, on the other hand, is perhaps less expertly grappling with the challenge of twin girls, who each find their own special ways of being annoying. He is the house husband, as the wife has always been the higher earner – it makes sense, but there is perhaps, a lingering sense of inadequacy, and a fear of being felt to be less of a man. We learn that she, too, is a mother, juggling work that she loves but with anti-social hours that make child care difficult. A single mother, she is desperate to ensure that her daughter does not make the same mistake that she did. That is – get pregnant and stuck with a baby in her teens.

As she tells the story, it is clear what a random chance it was – the boy was a little older, they were not together but they were both teenagers and they sought comfort in each other. And, indeed, at first, when she found out that she was pregnant, she hoped and it seemed that they could maybe somehow make it work. But it didn’t. She was all too aware of the life that had been snatched away from her, to be replaced by the forever burden of motherhood. And they were, perhaps, not really compatible, after all. He gradually drifted away and she knew that she was on her own. When she catches a glimpse of his new life, with a Land Rover parked outside a prosperous home, she resents even further the fact that he can press the reset button while she never can.

The production is not without its flaws. There are some geometric shapes on stage which are never used and seem to be left over from a different show. The lighting is somewhat erratic. However, such quibbles are minor in the context of such a powerful piece. Deans engineers an almost unbearably thrilling climax – suffice to say all the characters’ niggling complaints and grumbles about their lives fade to insignificance when they are each confronted with their worst fears. This is a very funny, very moving account of the fragility of everything we think we can rely on. The writing is razor sharp, not a word is wasted, and the performances by Ayedun-Alase and Sellers bring it breathtakingly to life, under the assured direction of Kathleen O’Dougherty.

Mother.Dad is running at the Omnibus Theatre, 1 Clapham Common Northside, London SW4 0QW until Sunday 31st January