A Mother’s Song @ Macrobert, Stirling

While the lights pulse in time with the beat of a drum, five women stand onstage. Each voice, as singular as their story, comes together in a layered harmony of female resistance and choice. A Mother’s Song, created by Finn Anderson and Tania Azevedo, is a new Scottish folk musical which reimagines traditions by breathing life into songs that are meant to be lived, not buried in a history book.

This stunning collection of traditional folk music and contemporary works composed by Anderson himself presents a textured celebration of stories and cultural heritage. The story follows Sarah (Bethany Tennick) as she is engulfed in her family history, told through the ballads bequeathed to her by her late aunt (Melanie Bell). We reach back to the 17th and 18th centuries, meeting Cait (Kirsty Findlay) and Jean (Blythe Jandoo), two women on the cusp of motherhood, fighting for their autonomy.

Tinashe Warikandwa and Bethany Tennick in A Mother's Song. Photo: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan

“Words are not enough," cries Cait, as tables, feet, walls, and cocktail shakers are transformed into orchestral marvels, eulogising a generation’s worth of love and grief. They are accompanied by a band that operates as the heartbeat of the entire production. They remain on stage throughout, the only constant as people and music swirl around us. The production is aided by Emma Bailey’s simple set design, which travels from New York to the helm of a ship with a single movement.

Exceptional performances by Bell and Jandoo are essential to what makes this piece feel so alive, but the same can be said for the whole cast, who access their characters with such empathy. Tennick is a particular wonder as she balances questions of LGBTQ+ representation in traditional spaces with ease.

A Mother’s Song weaves its tale like a siren song, transporting the viewer across time and place, with a hypnotising score and an electric cast.