Stir Q&A: Mom's the Word: Talkin' Turkey sees the mothers come home for the holidays
The five members of the Mom’s the Word Collective dish on credit-card bills, family, and how challenging the festive season can be
Robin Nichol (far left), Jill Daum, Alison Kelly, Barbara Pollard, and Deborah Williams. Photo by David Cooper
The Arts Club Theatre presents Mom’s the Word: Talkin’ Turkey until January 1, 2023 at the Granville Island Stage
NOW THAT HALLOWEEN is over, some folks (aside from shop owners) are shifting their attention away from creepy costumes to all things merry and bright. Members of the Mom’s the Word Collective are getting into the spirit, with the world premiere of Mom’s the Word: Talkin’ Turkey now onstage at the Arts Club Theatre.
Jill Daum, Alison Kelly, Robin Nichol, Barbara Pollard, and Deborah Williams launched their wildly successful theatre series in 1995, sharing their experiences as “exhausted, bedraggled, amateur mothers” on stage in the OG Mom’s the Word. It was an instant hit, going on to tour the globe and become one of the most popular shows ever produced in Australia. Mom’s the Word 2: Unhinged came in 2005, the cast members diving into the torment that is raising teenagers and the realities of aging. Both shows were combined for 2009’s Mom’s the Word: Remixed, then, a decade later, the women released Mom’s the Word: Nest 1⁄2 Empty Nesters, about having adult children.
The collective’s newest work puts the fun in dysfunction, bringing the moms home for the holidays.
All of the Mom’s the Word shows have started at the Arts Club, with Talkin’ Turkey being one of the company’s Silver Commissions. As in previous iterations, the stories that come to laugh-out-loud life in Talkin’ Turkey are all true, drawn from the five performers’ real lives. It came about, the team says, because fans have been asking for a festive version for years.
Wayne Harrison, who’s directing his fifth installment of the series, has described the newest entry as consisting of “heartwarming/soul-destroying tales of stuffing, roasting, burning, and gluttonizing turkeys during generations of holiday adventures”.
Stir connected with Daum, Kelly, Nichol, Pollard, and Williams in advance of the show’s launch to hear more.
The calendar just flipped to November. Are you really thinking about the holidays already? Have you dug out table linens for family dinners? Do you have lights up? Can you help us get our heads around the fact that the holidays will in fact be here before we can say Festivus for the Rest of Us?
AK: Hell, no. I won’t until at least after Remembrance Day. The lights are up all year round, so that’s under control!
RN: My home’s in Kamloops, so I’m out of town. I get to leave it all up to my daughter this year.
DW: I’m celebrating on stage this season with all of you.
JD: What Christmas?
BP: I start shopping in August!
What do you love and loathe about the holidays?
AK: I love when it’s over.
RN: I actually love being with my family.
JD: I loathe faking that I love a gift.
DW: I loathe my credit card bill in January.
BP: I love bringing light into the darkest part of the year!
The holidays are framed in popular media as a deliriously delightful time, but they can, of course, be extraordinarily difficult, painful, or stressful for people, possibly especially for moms. Does Talkin' Turkey delve into the way this time of year can be utterly heartbreaking or overwhelming?
It absolutely does. That’s why we’re doing the show: to share that it’s hard and it’s okay for it to be hard, and you’re not alone. You can’t control Christmas!
What’s your take on why Mom's the Word shows have resonated so deeply with audiences over the years?
Because we tell the truth, and we reflect the lives of people who traditionally haven’t had a voice. We say what parents are thinking. It’s about the reality of a mother's experience with Christmas. And we’re having a blast. Come see the show!
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