Meet SUSIE CORCORAN who will be the first to admit that her life has never gone according to plan; She’s been married and divorced, have loved and lost, laughed until she couldn’t breathe and also found herself unable to catch breath laying on my kitchen floor crippled with anxiety.
Sound familiar?
Motherhood isn’t just paying a photographer to take a perfect photo of your bundle of joy curled up in a basket, it’s not the heavily curated version everyone seems to be sharing on Instagram, there’s certainly is no preparation for it and nothing like anyone has ever anticipated.
PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DISASTER is brutally honest about being a mum. It’s of course full of love and a huge privilege but it’s also anything but easy, never predictable and can often leave you wondering how you are going to make it through until bedtime.
With tears streaming down your face, laugh along with the sometimes-savage experiences that can be motherhood and the ability to let go of all you thought it should be. Who knows if we share the shit we might all feel a bit better and much less alone?
Join Susie, a mother of two boys as she shares her hilarious story of becoming a Mum, not knowing what she is doing and how she makes it through each day of parenting these two boys with no instructions.
Laugh along as Susie as she realises that parenting is nothing as she expected, highly unpredictable and nobody is getting it right, despite what social media might portray.
Come along with your mum mates and enjoy an evening of storytelling from dodgy yoga classes, becoming a milkable creature, letting go of perfection and embracing the uncertainty of everything that is Motherhood.
PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DISASTER gets to Theatr Brycheiniog on the Wednesday 8th March, which also happens to be International Women’s Day! For more details on the show, and to get tickets, go HERE
How on earth Susie had the time, or indeed energy to tell us about the show, but that she did…..
“Priscilla is my story all about motherhood, the real story, not the curated version online, the best bits, the worst bits, the struggles, the pressure, the guilt, and the joy. It’s a comedy about the predicaments we find ourselves in as mothers and it’s also an honest account on how isolating it can be, how life changing it is and how there is no preparation for it.”
Who would you say is going to love and get the most from Priscila?
“I think mothers, parents, new and more experienced but also anyone who has been through something life changing who wants to come along and laugh with each other about how ridiculous life can be. It’s a story about overcoming obstacles, about connection and about the importance of sharing the truth about our stories to feel less alone. We will laugh and cry together and come away having taken some time for ourselves to recognise that life can be really hard and also find the comedy in those moments which in turn builds our resilience in them.”
We’ve watched the trailer and clearly you are brutally honest in the show, but in one sentence what should the audience expect?
“To laugh and cry along with an honest account of motherhood in all it’s glory, hopefully feeling less alone by the end.”
What inspired the creation of Priscilla?
“I became a mother at a time when people were sharing more online about their experiences. And I wasn’t having that same experience. I didn’t see anyone who was being honest about the birth, who was struggling to cope with the massive change, who lost their patience, who never quite felt enough for their kids. I knew I loved my kids; I knew I was incredibly privileged to have them, and I was and remain incredibly grateful for them, but I also didn’t know that I could feel all those things and find it all realty hard. So, I started to write about it, initially just for me, then as a blog and with a nudge from some people I work with in a theatre, I built the show with the help of some incredible people. I wanted people to laugh at the absurdity of it all, because I know acknowledging that helps me cope, laughing at the struggles is my best coping strategy.
But also, I found myself in a position I didn’t think I would with my family and I that was something I wanted to share, for me but also for anyone else out there who has struggled, to know they are enough and always have been.”
Obviously there was a life Pre-Priscilla?
“Before Priscilla, I worked and continue to work in a theatre. But also, alongside that I was a dancer and comic in those shows. I spent a decade doing that before I had the kids.”
I’m sure there’s a lot of chat and discussion amongst the audience members, who no doubt relate to a lot of what you say. You continue this in your post-show discussions. What goes on there?
“We all chat, about the story and I answer any questions people may have and I listen to other people’s stories. There are some heavier themes to some parts of the show in terms of mental health and the discussion allows us all a moment to process it all, any things which may have come up for the audience member and should they need anything else, like continued support I can connect and then either help myself or point them in the direction of resources which could help.”
And if there’s one message you’d like to share with Priscilla what would that be?
“That you are not alone, nor are you in competition with anyone to be the perfect parent. In fact, the perfect parent doesn’t exist. That by saying it’s hard doesn’t mean you love your kids any less, it means you are a human and the demands on parents are relentless. That you are enough and always have been despite what society or anyone else has told you. And that laughing about the ridiculousness is parenting and motherhood is the key. It helps fill your cup a little, only adding to the parent you are and connects you to others, which I think might be the whole purpose of life.”
