We’re proud to announce that our production of ‘night, Mother by Marsha Norman is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
'NIGHT, MOTHER displays a mother and daughter relationship in a free fall crisis. Disillusioned Jessie Cates, a woman suffering from epilepsy and depression, announces to her mother Thelma, that she will be killing herself at the end of the evening. The ensuing evening is what playwright Marsha Norman describes as, "a fight for their lives" as Thelma begs, bargains, and beseeches her uncompromising daughter to change her plan. 'NIGHT, MOTHER unsparingly explores the impact of mental health on mothers and daughters in our society. This production will be an entirely virtual streamed performance.
‘Night, Mother by Marsha Norman
Directed by Diane Sintich
Performances: October 22, 2020 - November 8, 2020
Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7pm
Sundays at 3pm
Read the reviews here:
WCGO Radio (Lainie Petersen) - Highly Recommended
"...Tekeisha Yelton-Hunter and Courtney Gardner both offer devastating performances in this Zoom production: Each woman embodies her role without giving way to excess. Gardner is particularly effective in her portrayal of Jessie, a woman who is simply tired of the struggle of living and who concludes that ending her life is preferable to continuing.
Read Full Review
Third Coast Review (Nancy Bishop) - Highly Recommended
"...Director Diane Sintich embroiders a tense real-time drama about this mother-daughter relationship in Marsha Norman's 1982 play, 'night, Mother, for Invictus Theatre Company. Jessie (Courtney Gardner), divorced and depressed, calmly tells her Mama Thelma (Takeisha Yelton Hunter) about her plan to commit suicide tonight. Over the course of the evening, Jessie goes over all the requirements of running the house, cleans out the refrigerator, straightens up her bedroom, folds laundry and reassures her mother that she indeed loves her. But she can't bear to live any longer. Jessie has suffered from epilepsy since childhood. ("They're seizures, Mama, not fits!") She also has untreated depression."
Read Full Review
Chicago Reader (Kerry Reid) - Highly Recommended
"What I am sure about is that Sintich's production features two fearless and layered performances. That Gardner and Yelton-Hunter make these connections in the virtual realm, without being able to actually touch and react to each other in person, is even more impressive. 'Night, Mother isn't easy to watch. But it finds new layers of urgency and staying power with Invictus."
Read Full Review
Hyde Park Herald (Anne Spiselman) - Highly Recommended
"Under Diane Sintich's careful direction, Gardner's heavy-set, taciturn Jessie and Yelton-Hunter's relatively slight, talkative Thelma are a study in contrasts who try to communicate despite the mother-daughter tensions between them. They simultaneously love and are isolated from each other, a situation cannily mirrored by the necessary staging."
Read Full Review
PicksInSix (Ed Tracy) - Recommended
"...Both Yelton-Hunter and Gardner expertly navigate the virtual challenges of the medium to deliver poignant performances. Gardner’s empathy, mixed with the single-minded enthusiasm of a person who is preparing for a vacation from which she will never return, is in sharp contrast to Yelton-Hunter’s pragmatic efforts to understand the true relationship between a mother and her daughter."
Read Full Review
Daily Herald (Barbara Vitello) - Recommended
"Confessions and revelations accompany anger, guilt and long-held resentments. But there is nothing mawkish about Norman's subtly humorous play or director Diane Sintich's candid, emotional production, which -- aside from a few quick, jarring cuts -- is ably composed and builds nicely to a shattering conclusion.
Potent performances from Gardner and Yelton-Hunter are reason enough to hope Invictus remounts this revival on stage once the pandemic ends."
Read Full Review
ChicagoOnStage (Karen Topham) - Recommended
"Norman’s play sets up an impossibly hopeless emotional situation and Invictus’ production evokes it forcefully. Watching both actresses react to Thelma’s final “‘Night, Mother” is a gut-punch, and Jessie’s heartwrenching pain afterward is completely earned. This is not an easy play to watch (especially if you have children and/or family members struggling with depression), but it is one that is not easily forgotten."
Read Full Review
Purchase tickets here!
