Written, directed and designed by mothers but more importantly performed by three women in their forties, Spiked is triumphantly created entirely by an age bracket underrepresented in theatre. This production at Pleasance Theatre tackles school gate segregation and cross-culturalism, aiming to inspire women to further share their experiences.
With the support of charities including Islington Giving and the Cripplegate foundation, mothers in Islington and in the audience will be invited to participate in a survey about their take on motherhood in Britain today. Mothers from all walks of life will be included in a recording which will form the play’s finale. No longer bystanders, mothers will directly be involved, become part of the narrative and tell the impact of motherhood on their lives.
Featuring Charlotte Asprey (Dracula, NBC/Sky; Elizabeth I, Channel 4/HBO; The Madness of King George III, UK Tour) as Joanna, Katie Clark (Complicité’s Measure for Measure, international tour, National Theatre; Mistresses, BBC; CrazyBlackMuthaFuckinSelf, Soho Theatre) as Rozhin, and Daniella Dessa (Yerma, Manchester Royal Exchange; writer for BAFTA-winning Facejacker, Channel Four; Bad Girls, ITV) as Karen, the production will explore how motherhood can be a uniting experience in a divided society.
Thrown together in an A&E waiting room, three mothers anxiously await news after their teenage children are taken ill at their London school. Despite very different backgrounds, as each mother confronts the unresolved tensions in their lives, the boundaries between them break down, forcing them to question their own relationships and their most heartfelt beliefs.
Writer Félicité du Jeu comments, In Spiked, I wanted to raise the question: What drives mothers apart and what can bring them together? Spiked hopes to build bridges between mothers from all walks of life and aims to show how we all share similar aspirations for our children.
Spiked is at The Pleasance Theatre 16th – 28th April 2018.
