HEALING. POETRY. POWER.
If you’re a first generation Australian woman. If you’re the daughter of a black mother. If you’ve inherited their pain—of escaping the horrors of third world conditions, of carrying physical and emotional trauma, of reckoning with an unfamiliar western frontier that regards you as ‘other’—then you’ll know how difficult it is to ask for permission to heal.
How can you balance your history with your unwritten future? How can you inhabit an individual identity when you’ve inherited the truths of your ancestors? How can you open your arms and feel the sunshine on your skin when secrecy and shame drain the colour from your parents’ eyes?
Poet Mel Ree rhapsodises about intergenerational trauma and marries ancestral and modern truths in a truly epic and cathartic performance. Peppering playful performance art with humbling, hard truths, Mother May We is a motivational manifesto for how to heal.
Want to go deeper? View the online program
From Declan
‘Mel is a force of nature—a poet, actor, musician, and leader of a cultural revolution across poetry nights in Sydney and beyond. After setting the SBW Stables stage alight at Griffin Scratch, we’re blessed to have Mel perform her full-length work of pure joy and truth-telling.’
With an eye on the future, Griffin Lookout champions works by the next generation of exceptional theatre makers.
Artists are given a stipend toward the development and production of their work, a generous split of their show’s Box Office takings, as well as in-kind artistic and producing support by the Griffin team.
Mel Ree‘s Mother May We is one of 2022’s Griffin Lookout productions, alongside Jessica Bellamy‘s A is for Apple.
Writer & Performer Mel Ree
Lighting Designer Frankie Clarke
Projection Designer Nema Adel
Sound Designer Steven Khoury
Associate Sound Designer Sam Cheng
Costume Designer Georgia Harper
Movement Choreographer Fetu Taku
Dramaturg Jackson Used
Stage Manager Natalie Low
Producer Bec Annetts
Publicist Sean Landis
Production Manager Saint Clair
Production Assistant Defne
Season 28 September – 8 October
Performance Times
Monday – Friday 7pm
Saturday 1pm & 7pm
Latecomers
Please note, there is a complete lock-out on all performances and latecomers won’t be admitted, so make sure you give yourself plenty of time to get to us, grab a drink, and get settled.
2022 Griffin Lookout Pricing
| All | $40 |
2022 Season Subscription Pricing
| 6 Play | 5 Play | 4 Play | |||
| Full | $288 | Full | $255 | Full | $216 |
| Senior, Preview | $240 | Senior, Preview | $205 | Senior, Preview | $176 |
| Concession | $210 | Concession | $185 | Concession | $156 |
| Under 35 | $192 | Under 35 | $170 | Under 35 | $140 |
| 3 Play | 2 Play | Griffin Lookout | |||
| Full | $168 | Full | $116 | Single | $35 |
| Senior, Preview | $138 | Senior, Preview | $98 | 2-pack | $64 |
| Concession | $123 | Concession | $86 | Concession | |
| Under 35 | $108 | Under 35 | $74 | Under 35 | |
Production Images
By Defne
Griffin is thrilled to partner with Theatre Network NSW to hold a free industry panel for independent Sydney theatremakers, producers, and community members.
Catch the performance of Mother May We on Friday 7 October at 7pm and hang around directly after to listen to Margie Breen (Theatre Network NSW), Mel Ree (Mother May We) and Ziggy Resnick (A is for Apple) discuss and celebrate all things indie theatre in Sydney! Moderated by Griffin Studio artist Bernadette Fam.
Register using the form below and receive an exclusive discount on tickets to Mother May We for that performance! Please note that space is limited, so register for this free event sooner rather than later.
Can’t make the show that evening? Totally fine! Rock up at 8.15pm to watch the panel for free! There will be refreshments and discussion in the foyer after the panel—it will be a fabulous celebration of Sydney’s thriving independent theatre scene.
“Ree expertly reels the audience in – as she confronts the abuse and loneliness of her past, you are unable to look away, implored to relive it alongside her.” ★★★★—Jasmine Joyan, Time Out Sydney
“With magnetism seeping from every pore, Ree makes an hour in her presence feel a fleeting moment.” ★★★★—Suzy Wrong, Suzy Goes See
“Mother May We runs the gamut from trauma to celebration, as Mel Ree puzzles out the pieces of her life to find out who she is and it’s a spiritually and emotionally fulfilling journey. All in a tight 65 minutes.” ★★★★—Chad Armstrong, The Queer Review
“Some of the juiciest language you’ll hear on an independent stage.” ★★★★—Justin Clark, Theatre Thoughts Aus
“I was captivated from the very beginning.” ★★★★1/2—Kate Young, Sydney Scoop
“Mother May We is a bewitching hour of theatrical magic.”—Richard Cotter, Australian Stage
“Ree’s candid delivery in this way and the switch from raw monologue to performance art state then back to banter or deep emotional descent into memories make this autobiographical show a showstopper.”—Paul Nolan, Sydney Arts Guide
“Mother May We is a thoughtful and sweet hour of poetry, dance and storytelling that is sure to hit home with most anyone.”—James Ong, Theatre Travels
“The words she speaks are at once intensely relatable and powerfully her own.”—Charlotte Smee, ArtsHub
“Quite simply, this show is not to be missed.”—Guy James Whitworth, CityHub
Mother May We contains drug use, vaping, loud noises, partial nudity, sex scenes, smoke, haze, strobe lighting and sexual references.
It contains descriptions of child abuse and domestic violence.
If you have any questions or concerns, talk to a Front of House staff member.
24/7 NSW Domestic Violence Line
1800 65 64 63
@griffintheatre