Emily Beecher is co-creator of The Good Enough Mums Club, a poignant and hilarious new musical based on women’s own stories of motherhood which opens at Birmingham Hippodrome on 25 October, prior to an Autumn tour. It is produced, written, directed and performed by mums, with the passionate team behind it spending the last decade bringing this production to fruition.
The cast of The Good Enough Mums Club is Rebecca Bernice Amissah (A Strange Loop, Daddy) as Michelle, Joanna Kirkland (Dear Evan Hansen, The Witches of Eastwick) as Bea, Amy Ross (Wicked, Heathers) as Sophie, Jade Samuels (Jumprov, MAWA) as Chantel and Belinda Wollaston as Esme (JUDY!, MAMMA MIA!) with Gemma Atkins (MAMMA MIA!, Wicked) as Swing and Cartier Fraser (The Buddy Holly Story, The Best of Wham) as Swing.
With a book and lyrics by Emily Beecher and music by Verity Quade, Chris Passey, The Good Enough Mums Club is directed by Sarah Meadows and Michelle Payne. More information can be found here.
The Good Enough Mums Club is heading out on tour, what can you tell us about the show?
Hooray! We’re so excited! The show explores the life of five women who go to the same playgroup every week and it looks at the way they connect with each other, and the things that we tend to hide when we’re in those environments. When the Council threatens to close the community centre which hosts the playgroup they have to overcome their isolation, loneliness, judgment and perfectionism to discover that they’re stronger as a group than as individuals, and that sometimes, being good enough is best.
What first inspired you to write it?
I had postnatal depression and postnatal psychosis when my daughter was born and when I finally had my diagnosis I was so relieved that there was something wrong with me and I wasn’t just a bad mum that I told everyone! And then all these women, who I thought had it together, starting confessing things that they were also struggling with, often things they hadn’t shared with other people, and I realised that I really wanted to do something to talk about all the things we’re too afraid to say out loud because someone might think that we’re a bad mum.
It’s been a decade in the making, how has it changed in that time and how does it feel to now be bringing it to the stage?
It’s changed a lot with every iteration from an early workshop sharing, to a community based project to improve maternal mental health, to a concert tour, and now as a full length musical but it’s always kept at its heart the idea that we’re stronger when we share our experiences and that you don’t have to be perfect to be a good mum.
It feels amazing that we’re bringing it to the stage now for sure, and we’re so grateful for all the support we’re getting, but I think it also raises some questions generally about the industry and how it works in why it took so long for the original core team of myself, Sarah Shead and Jade Samuels, as underrepresented creatives (we’re all single mums, all working class, Jade’s mixed race, I’m disabled and neurodiverse) why has it taken so long for us to get it across the line and what is the industry doing to support the other underrepresented creatives that are currently not getting the opportunities to share their work right now?
What do you think you’ve learned about yourself during this process?
A friend called me tenacious recently and it’s not a word I’d usually choose to describe myself but I think with this show I have been. I KNOW that there is an amazing audience for this work, an audience who isn’t used to seeing themselves represented on our stages, and I’ve always believed that this show has immense potential and opportunity not just in terms of its reach, but also to empower an audience and make them feel like they belong.
It’s entirely created by mums, how do you think that helps the shows authenticity?
I think there’s something really powerful about watching a show and knowing the team behind it have shared your lived experience, that those brilliant actresses on stage belting through those numbers probably also got woken up in night by a little person. It enhances the experience for sure.
We also make the work differently and that’s one of the things I’m most proud of – we work as flexibly as possible, welcome little ones into our rooms, book family friendly accommodation, we utilise job shares to make sure everyone gets a chance to do the job they love, we have a small childcare budget, we’ve even got one of the team’s mother-in-law coming along on tour to help her with the childcare for her baby. I’m a big believer in the idea you can’t make change by doing what’s always been done so we actively choose to do things differently and I think the work is better for it.
What would you say to anyone thinking of booking to see The Good Enough Mums Club?
I’d say, ‘you’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll probably wee a bit so grab your mum squad and join the club!’
