Anne Zander is MOTHER

An incredible show; the best I've seen at Fringe. Clever, engaging, emotional, a little haunting, and hilarious (I laughed until I had tears in my eyes multiple times). Anne performs brilliantly and, whether you've gone through pregnancy, giving birth, post-partum, and early parenthood or haven't (I have not), I think there are moments for connecting over both shared and divergent experiences.

Go see this show!!!

There she was, after her water broke, ice cubes and water from the bucket she had pushed on stage centimeter by centimeter, her pregnancy, or early labour, having intense contractions, and she, with the help of an audience member, birthed a black and white striped back pack. Then the placenta.

Weaving the web of a very realistic, emotionally rollercoasting, raw postpartum period, that included endless breastmilk pumping, rocking the bucket full of ice cubes and water to sleep, almost drowning in it in another scene, and slipping and sliding without getting ground under her feet in yet another scene.... and shortly after dancing wildly and happily. This show brought an honesty across that brought me to tears. A rock, an island, memories of such vulnerability, it moved me.

Started a bit slow, and some scenes were reeeeeeally long, but it picked up by the end. There were a few highlights driven by fun props that absolutely delighted me. I would like to see a future version of this that's tightened up to maybe 45 min or has a few more scenes added in.

I’ve never had this much of a good time while being this uncomfortable 😂 just fantastic stuff.

If there’s ONE place for this show… it’s Fringe Anne Zander is MOTHER review by Andrea Noga

There are some things that, perhaps naively, I never thought I would see onstage. However, Fringe shows us every year that going in with any expectations is the biggest mistake you can make.

Anne Zander is MOTHER is a clown physical comedy about the experience and aftermath of childbirth, told mainly through movement with minimal dialogue. The show begins with Zander, the show’s playwright and only actor, painstakingly moving a bucket of ice across the stage before giving birth to a backpack. And if you think that sounds somewhat insane, you should know that is only how the show starts, and it gets much, much more intricately unhinged from there.

Zander, as the central clown, is extremely committed. She never leans out of character for a moment, and frequently interacts with the audience, thinking of the right, comedic response without skipping a beat. While some of the bits she’s created do outstay their welcome, Zander is completely intune with the audience. When we begin to tire of the joke, she notices and moves on to the next one. She never breaks to laugh at her own outrageous actions, allowing her total commitment to elevate the comedy. Even when she’s eating her own “placenta” or genuinely pumping breast milk, (both appear in this show) she refuses to cheapen the jokes. This show could go off the rails quite easily with some of the startling actions her character pursues, however Zander is a consummate professional and she keeps the show on-track.

As far as the script goes, it is not going to be for everyone. It is shocking on purpose, and dares the audience to keep watching. Some will not, (there was a walk-out early in the show I attended) however those who can stay will find themselves roaring with laughter over the surprising, yet hilarious actions Zander is willing to go through with. The show addresses the wild mood swings that come with giving birth, and while I cannot say I had a particularly strong personal or emotional reaction, those with more relevant experience may be able to see something in it that I could not. As I mentioned, some of the bits go on slightly too long, however you will forget all about that when the next one begins and you will laugh all over again. This is a 75 minute show that might hit its peak as a 60 minute show, though I cannot complain about having more Anne Zander.

This is a contentious show, and I would not be surprised to see a spectrum of reactions to this one. However, as far as my perspective goes, this is a side-splitting show that will surprise, and shock you. Zander’s confidence knows no bounds, and her clown character even more so. Love it or hate it, you’d be hard pressed to not be entertained by Anne Zander is MOTHER.

This show is a lullaby full of silent shrieks. Anne's show begins where most people stop feeling and start to scream in pain. This show puts "Pain" in "Painting". Full of odd and stark encounters, for me, Anne was able to breathe out great moments where pain was so still that there was no way but to laugh. Laughter was my way to tell her that I saw her. That I knew it, although I did not "Know" it.

This Bouffon show can be hard to watch for some people, and that, I think, is the power of this show. I liked how stillness was so powerfully used in the play.