The new play Mumfighter opened in the Swansea Grand on October 15th and so far, has had exceptional responses.
Mumfighter is a new play written by Tracy Harris, based on her own personal experiences of having a child with a disability and fighting to get them the help they need.
The emotional one-woman show follows the life of Amber, from her life before her child was born to trying to process having a child with Cerebral Palsy, to fighting systems, like the NHS, to get her daughter the medical therapies and assistance she needs.
The play was able to connect with its audience and is raising awareness of the struggles of living with a disability and supporting someone with a disability.
Katie Payne’s performance as Amber was breath-taking both emotionally and physically.
The way she confidently moved around the arena staging, engaging with the audience and the set was remarkable and, the symbolic fight sequences were effortlessly done.
Despite the difficulty and the pressure of performing solo, Katie Payne appeared undaunted, allowing her to deliver the emotionally striking performance, perfectly portraying a mother who feels lost and unable to help her daughter.
After the 70-minute play, some people from Coleg Gwent Torfaen shared thoughts on the performance:
Ffion Bassett, who struggles with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS) herself, said that Mumfighter, for her, was an “emotional rollercoaster” which took her on her a journey through her own experiences.
She said that many elements of the play related to her own personal struggles like the main character Amber’s “avoidance of using the term disability”.
Ffion was “brought to tears” by the outstanding performance of Katie Payne which she said, “captivated” her attention and “fully immersed” her in the story and the fight for support for disabilities.
Vivienne Goodman, the Drama and Theatrical Studies teacher at Coleg Gwent Torfaen, said that she thought Mumfighter was “a courageous, truthful and necessary piece of theatre”.
She thinks it finds a way to resonate with any people who have had to care for others.
Vivienne said that she felt the piece was “optimistic” and “gave us the message that there is always hope” and that it is up to us what we do with our circumstances.
She said that she believes practitioners like the Grand Ambitions team are proving that “Welsh theatre is absolutely World Class”.
The play resonates with many people and is showcasing Welsh talent of Katie Payne and Tracy Harris.
In interviews, Tracy Harris said that she thinks there are problems in the support system for people and children with disabilities and, that people who are not part of that world are still unaware of the problems.
The play has definitely succeeded at raising awareness of the issues that carers can face every day and the fight that is still ongoing for support.
The play is continuing until October 25th at Swansea Grand Theatre and will certainly be a unique, unmissable experience for all.
