It’s a Mother! is a brilliant piece of theatre that investigates the nature of the mother and son relationship in the Australian-Greek context. The performance is presented in nine short skits, each written by a different person and performed by three actors who power through all the different roles.

The segments concentrate on the domineering figure of the Greek mother and how she alternatively spoils and manipulates the men in her life, particularly the son. Some of these stories are stronger than others, but the cast takes to all of the material with energy and passion.

It’s a Mother! is best looked at as a theatre rather than comedy, as its strength is in the skill of its actors and depth of its content, rather than the delivery of laughs. Unfortunately, portions of the show will be lost on anyone who is not Greek. Many of the jokes are not only aimed at very particular areas of Greek life, but also often delivered in Greek. While this elicited some big laughs from segments of the audience, it left others, myself included, cold at times.

However, this is a must see show for anyone with Greek or Hellenic connections, particularly women with a Greek mother-in-law. For everyone else, it’s a matter of enjoying the show as a very well-crafted piece of theatre but being prepared to feel left out of some of the jokes. This is a fair trade off, though, for such a poignant and well delivered show.