The Mother, London
Florian Zeller’s The Father was, for many, the West End play of last year, a heart-rending portrayal of the descent into the abyss of dementia. The Mother, also in a translation by Christopher Hampton, is clearly a companion piece, though it was actually written two years earlier. Similarly staged on a spare set, its central matriarch (Gina McKee) suffers from empty-nest syndrome after the departure of her son, which has led her to a pills-and-alcohol-fuelled malaise. As in The Father, scenes get repeated slightly differently, raising the question of whether or not they’ve actually happened. Ultimately, though, this woman’s story is less compelling than The Father’s, which highlighted a scary plight that potentially awaits us all.
Tricycle Theatre, NW6, Thu to 5 Mar
MC
The Solid Life Of Sugar Water, Plymouth
Jack Thorne’s two-hander, produced by Graeae, about a couple attempting to salvage their relationship in the wake of tragedy and the stillbirth of their baby daughter, is by no means an easy watch. It is brutally honest and unflinching as it unpicks the relationship of Phil and Alice (beautifully played by Arthur Hughes and Genevieve Barr) who meet romcom-style in the local post office, fall in love, but then discover that happy ever afters are not always guaranteed in real life. This is delicate, harrowing stuff full of layers and meanings as it teases out miscommunications, what we think we hear and what is really said, and fingers the cracks and fissures in a relationship, where the bed is a constant reminder of the damage wrought by grief and loss. Devastating.
Theatre Royal: The Drum, Wed to 30 Jan; touring to 19 Mar
LG
The Train, Lancaster
Plays are supposed to take you on a journey but this latest one, created by Imitating The Dog in conjunction with Italian company Marche Teatro, claims to literally do so, with an immersive production in which an audience of 12 are placed in an auditorium that actually moves. Part film noir and part meditation on loss and our inability to really know each other, the show has already played in Italy, and now has its English-language premiere in Lancaster. So clamber aboard and follow the story of a woman who has experienced a tragedy and is trying make sense of what has befallen her.
Lancaster Arts at Lancaster University, Thu to 25 Jan; touring to 21 Feb
LG
Escaped Alone, London
Attempting to preview a new Caryl Churchill work is a hiding to nothing, given the secrecy that always accompanies it. All we know about Escaped Alone is that it concerns four women – played by Linda Bassett, Deborah Findlay, Kika Markham and June Watson – tea and a “catastrophe”. We do know that the piece will be – like most of her later works – short (at about an hour), and probably divisive. That was the case with Here We Go (45 minutes about death) at the National Theatre late last year, described as “sheer tedium” by one critic but dubbed “unforgettable” by another. Whatever transpires, the 77-year-old writer of Top Girls, who has tackled such diverse subjects as 80s bankers and human cloning, remains a landmark voice in British theatre.
Jerwood Theatres At The Royal Court, SW1, Thu to 12 Mar
MC
Jane Eyre, Bristol
The Bristol Old Vic celebrates its 250th anniversary this year, and given the crisis it faced back in 2007 when it looked as if it might close its doors for ever, it’s a mighty achievement that it has survived so long. It’s in rude health, too, with its production of Pink Mist at London’s Bush Theatre (W12, Thu to 13 Feb) opening on the same day that Sally Cookson’s Jane Eyre returns in triumph from the National to the venue where this reimagining of Charlotte Brontë’s novel began life back in 2014. It’s a terrific example of contemporary British theatre finding inspiration in a classic novel but reinventing it, and – in an act of theatrical alchemy – making it seem new-minted on the stage. Passionate, faithful and yet full of invention and verve, this is a brilliant piece of ensemble theatre-making and is well worth your time and money.
Bristol Old Vic, Thu to 6 Feb; touring to 21 Feb
LG
Push 2016, Manchester
Manchester’s arts centre, Home, opened last May and it celebrates the start of its second year with some home-grown work. This weekend, Square Peg Theatre will be borrowing from Nordic noir for Roseacre (Sat & Sun), a physical theatre show exploring morality and murder. Loving and remembering is the focus of You Must Be The One To Bury Me (Tue to Thu) from emerging company Babel. Other highlights include a workshop from Mothers Who Make, a peer-support group for women who are both artists and mothers.
LG
• This article was amended on 15 January 2016. The preview of Push 2016 included SheepKnuckle’s A Brave And Startling Truth. The organisers of the festival have been in touch to say that the production, which was going to be live-streamed to Melbourne, has been cancelled for technical reasons.
