Mum Me and the IED – reviews
Collaborations Theatre Group presents, MUM, ME AND THE I.E.D., by James Balian and Roger Vickery, at The Depot Theatre, at 142 Addison Rd. Marrickville. August 15th – September 1.
Here are some reviews of this production. They are fairly good!
Kevin Jackson putting to practical test his beliefs and critiques, that he resonates about in viewing the work of his fellow artists.
There is one more week to catch it.
Please do.
We are fairly PROUD of what we have all done. Writers. Actors and Creatives.
It is interesting and consequently, sad, to experience the neglect by the major companies of the efforts of the young (and otherwise) artists working for the love of it and in the hope of being ‘seen’.
It is interesting to hear the need to see and do new Australian work, touted by Artistic Directors, and yet not seeing new Australian work outside their own effort.
Despite the intensity of the core subject, throughout Mum Me and the I,E.D. James Balien and Roger Vickery empower the story with light in the darkness, through moments of affection, and of humour. They’re marvellous storytellers, gifted at using dialogue which truly has voice, and in weaving it into a life like tapestry. Like any great story, Mum. Me and the I.E.D. has many layers some simple and more obvious, some more complex and subtle. …Kevin Jackson further enables the humanness, the searching and questioning, through creative contemporary direction. They’re on chairs. They’re standing. Then they’re on the floor. We laugh, and we cry as our hearts are torn apart. Mum, Me and the I.E.D. is a sharp intelligent play of outstanding merit, that deserves to be seen by wider audiences, to have longer runs and to win awards.
This is gripping, highly emotional and thought-provoking theatre at its best, which gives a confrontational insight into the operation of the military machine.
This is a gutsy play that packs a punch… To the uninitiated, the army life can seem a strange and harsh place. Sharp writing with much dark humour, along with incisive directing by Kevin Jackson, allows this play with its sometimes brutal depictions to let the light come in, and let people appreciate the difficulties and taboos of a very different kind of life with all of its attendant pathologies.
… I loved the stripped and spare nature of MUM, ME and THE I.E.D I loved the lightness of touch in the funny, human moments. I thought the performances were needle sharp, bayonet sharp… This is a moving production that speaks to the moment and I cannot recommend it highly enough.
… Director Kevin Jackson demonstrates creative use of space, in this story about intersecting dimensions… Lighting design by Martin Kinnane proves invaluable in conveying, with remarkable clarity, the many unusual spacial and temporal transformations required of the production…
“… a painstakingly crafted piece of writing … it weaves past and present cleverly. There’s also a strong vein of dry humour… Jackson has also drawn some very good performances… It’s been realised on the proverbial oily rag here at the Depot. Were someone to give this script another shot and provide it with a solid production budget, Mum, Me and the I.E.D would be a worthy contender for a tour.”