Review: MY MOTHER SAID I NEVER SHOULD, St James Theatre, April 19 2016

Twenty-seven years after it was first staged in London at the Royal Court Theatre, Charlotte Keatley's My Mother Said I Never Should is finally back on stage at the St James Theatre. The most performed play ever by a female playwright, it takes the audience on a journey spanning over 40 years, focusing on the lives of four generations of women in the same family.

The production starts in Lancashire in 1940 where Doris (superbly played by Maureen Lipman) is putting her young daughter Margaret (Caroline Faber) to bed under the piano after hearing the air-raid siren. She is first and foremost a wife and mother and she instills the importance of hard work into her daughter.

As the play leaps forward, we see Margaret leaving home for London with her American serviceman husband and having a daughter of her own, Jackie (Katie Brayben). Wanting her daughter to excel in life, she encourages her to go to art school in Manchester where Jackie falls pregnant at a young age and has her own daughter, Rosie (Serena Manteghi).

Keatley emphasises the pressure placed upon women in society - from the careers that they choose to their home-life as a mother and wife. Occasional scenes where the four actors come together as a childhood gang, making up spells and talking of kissing boys are confusing and unnecessary, as the principal plot is gripping and highly emotive.

Lipman is superb as the wry-humoured matriarch of the family, treating her granddaughter and great-granddaughter with the devotion and care that a number of the audience will recognise from personal experience. Faber and Brayben brilliantly portray how mother-daughter relationships can often become strained, although the love they have for each other never diminishes and it is clear how proud both are of each other. Manteghi perfectly captures Rosie's wide-eyed enthusiasm for life and the special relationship she has with Doris is touching.

The set, designed by Signe Beckman is sparse, with a number of vintage televisions dotted about, with Timothy Bird's video design depicting key moments in women's history during scene changes. All-in-all Paul Robinson's revival is a fantastic piece of theatre with realistic, loving portrayals of female relationships thanks to its passionate cast.

Photo Credit: Alex Harvey-Brown

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