"'night, Mother" is a tour de force conversation between a mother, Thelma, and her daughter, Jessie, who has just told her that she is going to commit suicide at the end of the night. The play is a taut high-wire act that leaves you spellbound as Thelma tries to convince her daughter not to go through with it and Jessie sternly insists. Thelma and Jessie are extremely dimensional, deep characters with an achingly believable...
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What if your daughter or son came into the living room, and she or he told you that he or she was going to end her or his life? How would you respond? What would you do? And the question is what can you do? Mama thinks that her and her daughter are having a normal night at the house until she finds out that her daughter has planned to end her life. At first, Thelma "Mama" thinks that Jessie is kidding when she says that she...
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Night, Mother is a sharp, terse play that examines the issue of hopelessness in all areas and facets of life. What is hopelessness, and how does it come about? This play looks at one aspect of suicide and its eventual cause: the loss of one's self, one's identity. The dialogues between Mother and Jessie are intense, but yet there is a separateness, a barrier that can not be broken between the two. They are united together...
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This is an amazingly moving drama. The way in which Mother and Jessie interact is so true to the nature of most relationships of comfort. Things are understood, tho never said. And yet these 2 people still don't really know each other. The nuances of this play are what make it so touching. The end always leaves me deeply moved, and not sure exactly what I should feel.
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Any idea why we're throwing a spotlight on some Scottish authors this week? The first person to add the correct answer to the comment section below will win a $20 certificate to shop on Thrift Books. The person to leave the comment that makes us laugh the most will also win one. One person cannot win both and we'll announce the winners on this blog next week.