Mother is Tiff Stevenson’s observation of the many and varied forms that motherhood can take, her material existing in the venn diagram where motherhood and feminism interconnect. Stevenson is a mum, but not in the traditional sense. She has a stepson and a cat called Bumble, who is "a red pill MRA incel". And so, with her unique brand of slick, straight talking witticisms, she contemplates the ‘blended’ and ‘non bio’ forms of nurture and how societal attitudes shape these.
A delightfully necessary contemplation of how existing as a woman is an extreme sport
There’s a strong exploration throughout the show of the pro life movement, which is particularly relevant as Stevenson has become a major target for online trolls subsequent to her sharing experiences of having a termination at 17. She shines a spotlight on the american alt right, and how the US "is being run by people who think Roe vs Wade was a tennis match". We hear about Candice Owens and her vehement boycott protests of Stevenson’s shows, and take a whistle stop tour of other female agents of the patriarchy, like Arlene Stewart of the DUP.
Stevenson is unapologetically feminist, and although her material is poignantly dripping in pathos, it’s never sombre. Stevenson’s material oozes with humour, each well formed skit rendering us crippled with righteous indignation and laughter. Her quip on the mansplaining barista was effortlessly hilarious, and her parallel of a man wearing an expensive rolex on a night out both riotously funny, and dismally disturbing. Stevenson is the personification of utilising humour to make a point. Not to make it more palatable - Stevenson is unapologetic about her politics. But for those sitting on the political fence, her material is both appetising and relatable.
Stevenson digs deep and no ground is spared, as she confides how horny she gets watching clips of men coming round from general anaesthetic. She’s addicted to the vulnerability, as she reasons that when you strip away toxic masculinity with the anaesthetic meds, it’s evident that men hate themselves as much as women do – a stance which mental health statistics would reinforce.
Mother is a delightfully necessary contemplation of how existing as a woman is an extreme sport. Stevenson also considers American attitudes to celebrity success, and how these can provide a mechanism for upward mobility that the UK has lost sight of. She poses a curiosity about how far she’d have gotten in life with Joanna Lumley’s voice as opposed to her own broad vernacular, a stark consideration most class conscious women will have sheepishly pondered. This is an hour of intelligent commentary into how not being everything you thought you would be, can lead to you becoming so much more.
