Dead Mom Play at Union Theatre Review
Dead Mom Play production image. Photo by Andrew AB.
Written by Eleanor for Theatre & Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review
Dead Mom Play, written and directed by Ben Blais, first debuted at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2024. It is now having a short London run at the Union Theatre. The work is mostly from the perspective of Charlie (Griffyn Bellah), who is living with his ailing mother (Hannah Harquart) as she battles terminal cancer. The pair are repeatedly visited by Death (Joseph Bellis), who is personified as the Grim Reaper, trying to collect her soul. Throughout the play, Charlie tries his best to distract and divert Death’s attention, using various methods, all the while dealing with his own feelings of denial, anger and nihilism. Although this narrative wasn’t always clear. But can Charlie escape from this cycle and accept what is seemingly inevitable?
Shortly after entering the auditorium, I was greeted with eerie blue lighting and a silent female figure, the mother, lying motionless in a hospital gown. This created initial feelings of tension and empathy. But as Dead Mom Play begins, the first music played completely juxtaposed these feelings. In the first scene, Charlie and his mother are completely detached and on opposite sides of the stage, as they have their own conversations simultaneously out to the audience. Bellah’ opening monologue is sprinkled with humorous thoughts and quips, and his delivery is comically rapid, but there were times when a great punchline was missed.
The play continues very much in this vein, with the characters each having their own dedicated moments to express themselves fully. In some cases, this was very thought-provoking and meaningful. In others, it is comical and somewhat absurd. At its best, Dead Mom Play was a great form of escapist and surreal comedy. But unfortunately, a lot of the content didn’t resonate for me and I was left somewhat confused as to the setting and the dynamics between the characters.
There were aspects of this show that I very much enjoyed. The way Charlie spoke out to the audience for the majority of the run time was very effective as it drew me into his way of thinking and the version of ‘reality’ he was giving to us. I loved the more causal discussions Charlie had with Death, particularly during his introduction in the guise of a caring neighbour. I also resonated with a comical scene where the mother was trying to garner some recognition for her previous acting experience while Charlie was forcefully discussing the impact of a character from the American TV show Arthur. This really did make me laugh!
What truly drew me in were the moments performed with greater emotional depth. As Charlie sits at the end of his mother’s bed and simply recounts his memories of her, we are able to glimpse some of his vulnerability. The ending of the play was similarly raw and stripped back. I would have loved more moments like this peppered throughout the script.
While Dead Mom Play was compelling, I personally found that it often lacked sufficient context, which made it difficult to fully grasp the emotional and narrative weight of the story as a whole. Stronger scene-setting would have clarified whether moments were grounded in reality or unfolding purely within the characters’ imagination. This also would have helped explain the motivations behind each character’s actions. For example, in the scene where Charlie bargains with Death for more time with his mother, and is granted a further week, a clearer setup would have heightened the emotional impact and deepened audience understanding of what was happening here. Similarly, his mother’s key monologue left me uncertain; was she attempting to fend off Death or was she, heartbreakingly, inviting him to complete his work? Greater narrative clarity in these moments would have allowed for a more powerful payoff and also created a greater contrast and heightened the purely farcical moments.
Overall, Dead Mom Play is a bold and imaginative piece of work with moments of real emotional depth and humour. While its surreal style is engaging, a lack of narrative clarity weakened it for me.
Dead Mom Play is playing at Union Theatre from the 14 April 2025 - 17 April 2025.
★★
