Not Your Superwoman by Emma Dennis-Edwards – ★★★★★
The Bush Theatre struck gold with Emma Dennis-Edwards’ scriptwriting and the legendary casting of Black Panther’s Letitia Wright and Bridgerton’s Golda Rosheuvel in the premiere of Not Your Superwoman, a piece of theatre so rich in Caribbean culture, emotions, and mother-daughter conflicts that it was easy to forget the no-interval, 85-minute running time.
As we sat down, the audience continued to pour into Holloway Theatre, where we were met with eerie soundscapes and black-and-white projected images on a mesh curtain, including silhouettes of women and close-ups of both characters with stoic expressions. Behind the thinly veiled mesh screen lay three basic chairs and a handbag on top of a suitcase.
As the projections fade, Joyce, the workaholic mother (Golda Rosheuvel) walks on stage, and it immediately becomes clear that she is at the airport waiting for someone to arrive. She is physically in a waiting area, but there is also a strong symbolic sense of waiting, which is an ongoing motif throughout the show: waiting for the right moment to apologise, waiting for the right moment to expose hidden secrets from the past, waiting for the right moment to express radical honesty, and so on.
Erica (Letitia Wright) eventually joins her, and we begin to unravel some of their differences, which seem to be steeped in generational differences, although on the surface they appear lighthearted. What unfolds is in stark contrast to the melancholic projections on screen at the beginning of the show. They comically go back and forth between the annoyances that happen at the airport and the love-hate dynamic many of us experience when travelling with family members. Joyce teases Erica about the younger generation’s need for therapy, and this evolves into an ecstatic comedy sequence: from TikTok references, to getting a flight upgrade and avoiding economy seating, to spotting Central Cee on board. Eruptions of laughter bounced off the auditorium walls, and animated reactions were not in short supply.
As the narrative builds, we learn they’re taking a trip to Guyana to properly commemorate their late matriarch (Joyce’s mother, Erica’s grandmother) and spread her ashes in meaningful locations across her country of origin. What starts out as a simple but mournfully charged trip soon transforms into an unearthing of deeply rooted individual and generational trauma, alongside first-hand experiences of living with depression and enduring intense waves of mental health lows, particularly within the Black community, where personal struggles are often stigmatised or downplayed due to the sense of pride and innate strength many feel compelled to display. There’s also an uplifting celebration of Guyanese culture through food and music, set against the picturesque backdrop from waterfalls and mountains to markets, which serves as a poetic reminder that joy and sorrow are often experienced simultaneously.
“You are wanted. You are worthy. You are not alone.”
Not Your Superwoman is a beautiful love letter to Guyana and the women who came before, touching on intergenerational reconciliation and the identity tied to a breathtaking cultural journey. It’s refreshing in today's climate, where self-preservation can often become synonymous with a form of toxic individualism that doesn’t care to do the work of healing complex familial relationships. Wright and Rosheuvel deliver one of the most believable on-stage mother-daughter relationships to date. Their comedic timing and ability to switch in and out of characters, including their late matriarch in different time periods, never fell short of coming across as energetic and seamless.
Jai Morjaria’s lighting design and Gino Ricardo Green’s video design were superb, transforming what could have been a plain stage into something that transported the audience from a chilly, autumnal London setting to a vibrant, luscious Guyanese paradise, where you could almost smell the fresh fruit and baked food. The creative staging, lighting, and video design are a testament to how talented creatives can move our hearts and transport us to other countries in the blink of an eye.
It’s not hard to understand why this star-studded duo-cast show is already sold out with rave reactions. Dry eyes were in short supply in the closing scene, and it’s certain that lessons on empathy and communication are something audience members will carry with them long after the curtain call.
A performance so moving, it makes you want to pick up the phone and tell your mum how much you love her.
★★★★★
By Nadia Mantock
Not Your Superwoman is showing at the Bush Theatre until 1 November.