Recalling Mother: Her Lines, My Lines
“Her hands, at 8, are washing grains of rice running the grains through her tiny fingers.
My hands, at 8, are grasping a pencil pressing the nib against the pages of my primary school exercise book.”
“Her hands, at 35, cook and clean, cook and clean, cook and clean.
My hands, at 35, type and text, type and text, type and text.”
Mother-daughter relationships are always complex. Their echoes spread across generations. How does time bring a new perspective to the way we relate to our parents? A vivid, affecting portrait of the ties between mothers and daughters, Recalling Mother: Her Lines, My Lines invites you to reexamine this special connection with tenderness, compassion, and empathy.
Immensely moving and funny, Checkpoint Theatre’s Recalling Mother: Her Lines, My Lines celebrates the joys, trials, and intricacies of mother-daughter relationships. A living work by long-time collaborators Claire Wong and Noorlinah Mohamed, the piece has resonated deeply with global audiences in Singapore, New York, Brisbane, and Adelaide, since it began its journey in 2006, over many successive versions.
Now, in 2022, the conversations evolve further, with changing times, bodies, and relationships creating new bonds and stories. Dynamics shift, and love and care become inextricable. Daughters find themselves renegotiating their roles, as they grow up and grow old with their parents.
Shared with verve, generosity, and wit, acclaimed theatremakers and friends Claire Wong and Noorlinah Mohamed open an intimate, safe space for all to listen to their stories and recall mother in their own way.
A commission by Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, as part of The Studios 2022.
Read audience feedback and media reviews here!
Creative Team
- Written, performed, and directed by
Claire Wong
Noorlinah Mohamed- Scenic Designer
Johanna Pan
- Lighting and Multimedia Designer
Elizabeth Mak
- Sound Designer
Shah Tahir
- Production Manager
Izz Sumono
- Production Coordinator
Lili Muslihah
- Stage Manager
Saffa' Afiqah
- Assistant Director
Lim Shien Hian
Reviews
- Press
Checkpoint Theatre has always excelled at laying bare quiet, unguarded moments of humanity and Recalling Mother is no exception. One leaves the theatre, not with the feeling that a chapter has been closed, but, rather, that a new conversation is just about to begin.
CRYSTALWORDS, SG
[Recalling Mother] is pitched at just the right level, and is a hymn to mothers everywhere. It is also theatre at its most raw, fundamental and authentic, firmly rooted in the story-telling tradition.
GLAM ADELAIDE, AUS
Each staging of Recalling Mother has been more than a re-visitation of old material. [...] It is a play that is likely to grow in poignancy if you've watched previous ones. Yet even the first time viewer is likely to come away seeing his or her own relationship with his or her mother...
TODAY, SG