KEY POINTS:
Whether you enjoy Mother Whaea Tama Son or not will depend somewhat on whether you are a short story kind of person.
If you think a short story is a small but perfectly formed mechanism with which to examine life, you'll walk away from this play happy.
But if, like me, you think that most short stories are just too, well, short, you will be less satisfied.
Mother Whaea Tama Son is essentially nine sketches examining mother-son relationships from Maori and Pakeha perspectives.
None of the stories is related and none of the characters reappears in any of the stories.
Instead the nine vignettes have been grouped together in five scenes representing key milestones in the mother-son relationship. This circle-of-life structure takes us from a story about young boys playing on the beach, through a tale of teenage meatheads to a trio of stories about young adulthood, one about men becoming parents and then the finale when two sons face the realisation that they now must care for their elderly mothers.
While the structure of the piece does give it a sense of cohesiveness, the episodic nature of the whole production means there is no real depth to the drama.
Just when we are beginning to identify with a character and get involved in the story, we are off to meet another mum-and-son combo.
It is a case where you could argue that more is actually less. Although that is not to say the whole production is fatally flawed or that it is not an enjoyable evening's entertainment. Writers Kath Akuhata-Brow, Albert Belz, Norelle Scott, Michele Hine and Gary Henderson have written some choice dialogue and created some easily identifiable Kiwi characters.
There are lovely moments, a couple of sad scenes, and it's great to have a bit of old school Billy T humour in the mix.
Actors Fraser Brown, Michele Hine, Nicola Kawana and Taihui Tukiwaho are always believable as mothers and sons, and all give solid if somewhat understated performances.
Less impressive is the design for the show.
The actors have only a series of simple wooden boxes to use as props and all the action takes place in front of three curtains which become backdrops for large video projections.
At their best the projections help to create atmosphere, but at their worst the images used are cliched representations of the characters' inner emotions.
Mother Whaea Tama Son is as Kiwi as a roast dinner or a hangi, and like these solid favourites it makes for an unpretentious, no frills, safe kind of night out.
* Until April 1.
