Jana and Heidi: Like Mother Like Daughter @ The Lowry Studio

There were frequent Cava-based comparisons to the hilarious maternal drama of Ab Fab throughout Jana and Heidi’s sell out show at the Lowry Studio. However, Saffron and Eddie they are not. Having performed at the Edinburgh Festival this summer, Jana Kennedy and her 69-year-old mum, Heidi, brought their comedy show Like Mother Like Daughter to Manchester for one night only. The trials and tribulations of this duo’s feisty relationship form the basis of the performance and the familiarity of their experiences, whether from fantasy or memory, made it a hit with the audience.

Unfortunately, the overall performance lagged under the weight of Jana dragging her mum along with her. Heidi told some stories about the colourful life she has led, from Chechnyan refugee to successful PR guru, but she is not a natural comedian, and the addition of sexual innuendo made it far less entertaining. When she ‘nipped to the loo’ for ten minutes, the audience glimpsed the comic potential that Jana possesses all by herself. Kennedy is brash, sexually explicit and has genuine comedy value, hindered rather than enhanced by the presence of her mum, which began to feel more like a gimmick to sell tickets than a stroke of creative genius.

The theme of motherhood inevitably defined the show, but, at times, it also made it feel forced. When Heidi read aloud from a children’s book explaining the birds and the bees, it wasn’t funny, just pretty awkward and a strange inclusion in the set. However, Jana and Heidi’s double act is undeniably heart-warming and you definitely leave feeling intent on calling your mum and taking her out for lunch soon. The audience was enthusiastically laughing along and participating in the intimate space of the Studio, but this format has limited scope for development. It would be exciting to see Kennedy branch out into a more daring kind of comedy, minus her mum, as she has the stage presence and comic timing to hold her own for an hour.