A new dark comedy in English Mummy’s Dead, Long Live Mummy!, written, produced by Koël Purie Rinchet and directed by Tiffany Hofstetter which had a successful world premiere in March 2023 in Paris, is now coming for a three-city India tour along with the original cast, performing in Delhi and Bengaluru this week.
Also produced by Ira Dubey and presented by Lila Naatak Company, Mummy’s Dead, Long Live Mummy! dramatizes the relentless nature of motherhood by following the raw, unfiltered, tragically hilarious and often moving journey of four diverse mothers.
Often a mother is either pulling her own hair out in exhausted defeat or being humiliated publicly by her mini-spitting image. Sometimes, she can get seven whole minutes of the cuddly, loving child she had always dreamed of, or sometimes half a minute can go from extremely exhilarating fun to marvellous meltdowns. As the name suggests the play is deeply funny, scary, heart-breaking, and relentless in equal measure. It is presented by an all-women team and the timely universal language of the play will appeal to all.
Koël Purie, who has written the play, says the play’ is relevant to Indian audience too. “The play will be relevant as long as there are mothers in the world. From Parvati to Mary, for too long mothers have been held to impossible standards. Today, women increasingly act on their ambitions like men have for centuries but still bulk of the responsibility of home and family rests on her shoulders. Thus, the need to bust this myth and glorification of motherhood has never been more vital. It is the hardest, most important and most chaotic job in the world and the only way to get through with some semblance of sanity is to laugh about it and lean on a sisterhood.”
Co-producer Ira Dubey says the play highlights the universality of the human experience, of womanhood and sisterhood across the world.
“It’s incredible to watch Koël tread that funny little thing called a work-life balance with ease, chutzpah, and grace, most recently being a mother. When she told me she’d written a play about the craziness of parenting and it was an all-women piece, I was instantly hooked. I am an aunt to five-year-old twins and everyone around me has young children, motherhood seems to me a great milestone in a woman’s life that is revered, dismissed, misunderstood yet omnipresent - women question their worth, relevance, lives, priorities, careers, husbands and even their kids. “
“Especially here in India where we still conform to such traditional ideas about women even as we appear to challenge and break them, it’s an interesting time. I thought it would be wonderful to have this fantastic original troupe bring this diverse cast and brilliantly written piece to Indian audiences not just for its global flavour but to highlight the universality of the human experience, of womanhood and sisterhood across the world.”
With Koël Purie Rinchet, also performing in the play are Viviane Bossina, Melinda Mayor and Laura Woody. Mummy’s Dead, Long Live Mummy! will be performed in Bengaluru on Sunday, October 1, at Ranga Shankara, J.P. Nagar at 3.30 p.m. and 7.30 p.m. Tickets for the shows are available at the Ranga Shankara box-office and on BookMyShow.
