The Stables theatre recently was privy to a special theatrical event with a mother and daughter performance of style featuring Belinda Giblin and her daughter Romy Bartz, fresh out of graduating from NIDA. They performed a season of Joanne Murray- Smith’s most well known play, ‘Love Child’, with Jennifer Hagen directing.

Murray-Smith’s play is a fierce one. Anna, an attractive, middle-aged professional woman consents to a meeting with a young woman, Billie, who claims to be her daughter who she gave up for adoption some twenty five years ago.

‘Love Child’ was an appropriate vehicle for the actresses to show their talents. The play gave mother and daughter the chance to let fly, and show their dramatic range in the intimate Stables space.
In the program notes director Hagan likened ‘Love Child’ to a boxing match with ‘two ill-matched contestants fighting it out-each determined to go the distance. There can be no decision either way until the bell sounds, signaling acceptance’.
It is a fitting metaphor. Romy’s Billie is the aggressor, trying to land as many blows. Belinda’s Anna is in the corner defending the blows, till she gets the opportunity to free herself.
Belinda plays Anna very cold to begin with, reminiscent of a mother like Mary Tyler Moore in ‘Ordinary People’. Her frostiness can’t last long under Billie’s continual barrage. Billie forces Anna to open up and take stock of her life and decisions.
Romy plays Billie with rage, empowered with the moral high ground, but then she has to take some backward steps.

Jennifer Hagan staged the contest well, helped by Tony Youlden’s lighting design, and Axel Bartz’s compact set.