Review: “Matriarch” by The Roots and Wings Project
(Sheila Govindarajan)
Filmed in an outdoor setting that feels like someone’s backyard and telling six unique stories from six unique perspectives, Matriarch excels in its simplicity. All that we have are ourselves, the powerful words of the writers and the electric performances of the actors.
Each story of motherhood and womanhood paints a different but equally unique picture. It doesn’t deify mothers but it doesn’t demonize them either. Some are from the mother’s perspective and about the choices she made, some are from the perspective of the children. Every performance is delivered with such honesty and passion that not until looking back through the program and who wrote what did I realize that the actors weren’t performing stories from their actual life.
Some standouts were the second story by Tamar Halpern and performed by Gabriel Diamond. What a beautiful story about living with a single mother and the impact she had on him. It was told in such a personal and simple way that you really hung on every word. This culminated in a beautiful dance routine.
Another stand-out was Ramy El-Etreby at the end of the piece performing a monologue written by Roger Q. Mason. The story was about the main character struggling with being gay and the pressure and abuse their mother put on them for that. El-Etreby performs with such grace and you really catch every little expression and every little moment. The piece ends in a particularly poignant bit of repetition that emphasizes how desperate the character was to be what their mother wanted them to be.
Morgan Danielle Day’s performance in “The Formula” by Taylor Lytle, a story of going from foster home to foster home and how that affected them and the journey both literal and emotional from that was also incredibly powerful.
All of the stories were performed in an almost spoken-word-like way. This made the whole experience, even from my laptop miles away, feel closer and more intimate. You felt like you were being welcomed in to hear something private. It also gave the pieces a rhythm that kept you locked in on every word they spoke. A very beautiful show all around.
It’s clear that everyone involved in “Matriarch” approached the work with passion and love. Every piece feels full of great reverence and respect for mothers and the women we have in our lives. After viewing you will likely go and call all of the strong women in your life and thank them and tell them you love them. Overall, Matriarch was a beautiful show with some great writing and excellent acting and I hope to see more from this company soon.
“Matriarch” was presented by The Roots and Wings Project and Houston Coalition Against Hate
Written by Jesse Bliss, Diane Rodriguez, Sigrid Gilmer, Roger Q. Mason, Tamar Halpern, Taylor Lytle & Sheila Govindarajan
Created & Directed by Jesse Bliss
Featuring: Cristina Frias, Morgan Danielle, Jesse Bliss, Ramy El-Etreby, Bahni Turpin , and Gabriel Diamond. It also includes an opening song written and performed by vocalist Sheila Govindarajan