EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND — One of the main categories of shows at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival is comedy, and the title Bad Mums seemed like a perfect fit for an overworked, over tired, imperfect mum like myself to check out.
Nikki Justice and Gill Cordiner from Australia, who have had success with a sold out tour there and are known as “badmumscomedy” on the internet.
As they opened, one of the first things Gill said was if you are the type who puts your cereal in plastic containers labeled cereal there’s the door, and instantly I knew I had found my people. The honesty with which they both delivered the next hour of irreverent yet realistic comedy of motherhood, love, divorce, work, and life was refreshing.
Now, before you go and look them up (which I am not saying you shouldn’t) I am not kidding when I say irreverent. Nothing was left off the table, and I mean nothing. Much has been discussed lately of differences with cultures and artistic portrayals and sensitives, and this was clear Australian, UK, nothing held back humor.
Nikki started by listing all her jobs from stripper to construction worker and then asked if it was clear that she has ADHD. She talked about how she has had to work on taming this ADHD for motherhood.
Gill did a fantastic job talking about the sad fact that all your lady parts start taking a journey south as you age, and while this is just a small sampling of the more publishable jokes they shared, I confess that I enjoyed the irreverence with which they displayed that I wish I could have when I stop trying to fit in the box I don’t belong in. I identified so much with how I am not the mom who is organized or exercising but can make delicious food. I also feel the stress and frustration when I find my teen has left an empty bag of “crisps” on the shelf that I really was hoping to enjoy.
Mostly I loved being able to sit for a spell and just laugh at the absurdity of calling each other bad mums when we really are just doing our best to make it through. It was wonderful to get a laugh and let go of the perfection for a while.
