Mummy’s Dead, Long Live Mummy!
A Play by Koël Purie Rinchet
A Comic Unfiltered Journey into Motherhood – more guilt than glory
Age : 15+
Produced by Koël Purie Rinchet & Urvashi Sethi
Directed By Pulchérie Gadmer
Performed by Viviane Bossina, Melinda Mayor, Koël Purie Rinchet &
Laura Woody
Director's Assistant Solange Adamson
About “God couldn’t be everywhere, so he created mothers”. Of course, he could be everywhere, he’s God, he chose not to be because in his wisdom he knew that being a mother is the hardest job of them all. Anyone who tells you differently is either delegating, or lying, or lying about delegating. Often a mother is either pulling her own hair out in exhausted defeat, or being humiliated publicly by her mini spitting image. Of course, it’s not all bad. Sometimes, she can get 7 whole minutes of the cuddly, loving child she’d always dreamed of. Aware that in the space of half a minute it can go from extreme exhilarating fun to marvellous meltdowns.
It’s not going to matter as a mother that she shattered the glass ceiling, or won the excellence award for business, no one will know this nor her actual name, henceforth, she’ll be known only as Noora or Jay’s Mummy. She’ll play secretary to the busiest kids in the world, learn to live her life between pick ups and drop offs and keep her eyes down to avoid the gaze of Mother Mary, Parvati and skinny Mom-fluencers.
Mummy’s Dead, Long Live Mummy! dramatizes the relentless nature of motherhood by following the raw, unfiltered, tragically hilarious and often moving journey of 4 diverse mothers. The play opens as each one is dealing with a heightened but not uncommon ‘do or kill’ moment of mothering. This timely and important piece of theatre is immersive and intends to become a conversation and a safe place for mothers and parents to feel represented. With an episodic and in-your-face style à la Vagina Monologues, it is written to break the myth around the glory of motherhood. It celebrates the very real heartache and struggle of mothers around the globe and how together they form a sisterhood to find joy.
Koël Purie Rinchet, award wining actor, producer, writer but most importantly Mother with a capital M, brings together a phenomenal group of women thespians and entertainers to debut her latest creation – a 90 mins play in English, Mummy is Dead, Long Live Mummy! Her acting credits include BAFTA winners (Dirty War), Bollywood sensations (Rock On!! Everybody Says I’m Fine) and Shakespeare. Her chat show On the Couch with Koël, where she interviewed Presidents, Prime Ministers, film stars and sporting stars, went on to become a hugely popular top-rated show on TV. At the onset of her career she created, produced and acted in Aaj ki Naari, a daily TV show championing the rights of women for DoorDarshan (the national broadcaster) with a reach of over 300 million households. It became a rage, but also caused much outrage as it challenged existing norms of format and content. She trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) and has lived and worked in Delhi, Mumbai, London, Toronto and Tokyo and now calls Paris home, where she produced and acted in a sold-out run of the stage play Truth, lies and Deception.
Urvashi Sethi, serial entrepreneur, life Coach, blogger, international Golfer/ Indian National Golf champion, art consultant, cricket team owner, English teacher, corporate executive, and mother of two young men has worn many caps with ease and comfort. However, the agility, energy and patience she has acquired and displayed as a mother surpasses that of all her other achievements. A trailing spouse, she has lived and successfully worked in six cities across three continents and has at every turn, while reinventing herself, re-established and redefined “home” for her sons and her husband. As a parent coach, Urvashi has a ringside view of the trials and tribulations of modern-day parenting. As a successful alliance consultant and Art consultant, she has worked with corporates and artists and thus understands the intimate relationship between the them. Presently, Urvashi lives in Paris and is making a valiant effort to learn French.
Pulchérie Gadmer, director, dramaturg, and author is also the reigning mother of three. She loves to explore scenic forms, creative processes, and the plasticity of words. As a dramaturg in both France and Japan, she has successfully interpreted for the stage writings by Elfriede Jelinek, Sarah Kane, Jean Genet, and Oriza Hirata. Her extensive directorial work at theatres throughout France, as well as the drama festivals of Avignon and le Palais de Papes, includes non-theatrical materials, such as the poetry of Sei Shônagon and Catullus, for which she was also the translator. Koël and Pulchérie collaborated last year for Truth, lies and Deceptionin Paris to resounding success.
Melinda Mayor Originally from Canada, Melinda Mayor has written and performed her own work at a variety of venues, namely her one-woman show “Jew! (A Musical)” at the Vancouver Fringe Festival in Canada and at Lost Theatre’s One Act Festival in London, UK. Her original musical about motherhood, “All That Matters”, debuted at the Montmartre Dionysia in Paris, and she has featured in festivals in the US and France. Melinda also appeared as Lady (formerly Lord) Capulet in Cygnet Theatre’s nearly-all-female production of Romeo and Juliet, performed in the idyllic Arène de Montmartre.
Melinda’s writing has featured in various collections, including Mom for the Holidays and the Being Abroad sketchbook project, and her flash fiction piece "Something Big” was recently long listed for Bath Flash Fiction Award. As a singer she has performed across many Paris stages, from the iconic Le Balajo to a forthcoming show at Café de Paris, and a reviewer once described her work by suggesting audiences “imagine Cher in one of her sheer costumes getting drunk at Lilith Fair and hijacking the stage during Jewel's set”.Melinda lives and works in Montmartre, where she not only shleps up and down the hill all the time but also attempts to resist being too much of a martyr mother to her two children, both of whom are now taller than she is.
Laura woody born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana, Laura holds a BFA in Theatre Performance from the Theatre Conservatory at the Chicago College for the Performing Arts at Roosevelt University in Chicago, Illinois. She has studied at the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco and the Ecole Jacques Le Coq in Paris. She is a proud cast member of “New, the Improvised Musical” (Essaion, Les Feux de la Rampe, Grand Point Virgule), the Improfessionals and half of the Pop-Folk Duo “The Barettes” (Gum Club, Universal Music Distribution). Her voice can also be heard on jingles for Renault Twingo “Miss Sixty”, Twizz’ Radio Belge and La Roche Posay BB crème. Laura is currently appearing as Isadora Duncan in “L’Insolant Roland Garros” (Eric Bouvron/Vincent Roca) and is developing a new piece on the passions and motherhood of Marie Curie and Isadora Duncan. Her bravest undertaking by far however is being mother to Nina and Jane.
Viviane Bossina is an actress, singer-songwriter, spoken word & voice-over artist. She trained at the Actors academy Finland in Helsinki and is now based in Paris.
Solange Adamson is a Canadian operatic soprano based in Paris. She has appeared recently in recital at the Fondation des États-Unis, and in concerts at Salle Cortot, the FEU, the Mairie du 5ème arrondissement, and Vienne Volksliedwerk. Since moving to Paris, Solange has explored French repertoire, in particular by female composers. She won the Harriet Hale Woolley award last year to study the work of Julie Candeille and has regularly programmed works by Nadia and Lili Boulanger and Germaine Tailleferre along with a substantive repertoire of French opera and art song. Solange is a graduate of École Normale de Musique de Paris and holds a master’s in music from UCLA. She is currently supported by the Canada Council for the Arts.
