Mum’s the Word

Cecilia Moisio

I had the chance to watch Mum’s the Word, created by Cecilia Moisio, in Maastricht during the Dutch Dance Festival, on the third of October, 2015. Four performers, four generations of mothers and daughters and a cosy little home, which was constantly mutating, full of mistery, intimacy, secrets, memories and beauty were the players of this piece.

Cecilia Moisio known for works that are tightly related to human’s psychology and unconscious human’s behaviours, show us, in this physic theatre piece, a whole deep and strong world behind a relationship between mother and daughter - one of the most basic forms of love - and the special connection that exists between them. Are we conscious about this kind of relationship and how it can have repercussions during our entire lives?

The piece started and we were able to see, through the four generations, the growth and intensification of struggles as well as the development of the special and strict connection between mother and daughter.

Cecilia Moisio permeate, smartly and brilliantly, inside the audience’s head by creating an incredible and extremely visual piece, where the scenario, performers, strong, assertive and pedestrian movements and music were constantly interacting with each other and with the audience and complementing themselves making possible for us to identify ourselves with certain crucial points of the scenes. For example: Who never wrote a diary and hided it? Which mother never wanted to read the diary of her daughter/son? How many things do we hide from our own mother?

The most interesting thing, in my point of view, was the duality between the hardest and the wonderful sides of this kind of relationship.  As an observer and specially as a daughter it was eminently arduous to realize how cruel, cold and unsatisfactory this relationship could be. It seemed as I was watching a drama/horror movie where at the end the mother die and the daughter regrets every single mistake that had done. However this main focus, by Cecilia Moisio, on this side of the relationship was crucial to make the audience enter in the piece since the beginning. She make the audience getting right into their own lives, their own relationships, their own fears.

Is there anything more beautiful that this complex blood bond? Is it even possible to remain indifferent to such a theme? One piece, one world where manipulation, jealousy and hidden rivalry coexist with love, intimacy and knowledge.

Concept, choreography and direction: Cecilia Moisio 

Performers: Arnica Elsendoorn, Sylvia Poorta, Soosan Gilson, Katarzyna Sitarz and Yulia Kalinchenko 

Video and light design: Mark Thewessen 

Set Design: Malin Moisio 

Music: Joni Vanhanen 

Advice acting: Vincent Wijlhuizen 

Artistic advice: Suzy Blok 

Technique: Marcel Slagter 

Production/tour management: Hit Me Productions​

Publicity: Lisa Reinheimer, Lisette Brouwer 

Coach Singing: Ineke van Doorn

Costumes: Margot Koudstaal a.o.

Photography: Jamain Brigitha – Associatives & Jochem Jurgens