Peter Abrikian, Gleaner Writer

Makeda Solomon (left) and Leonie Forbes. - Contributed

When many Jamaicans think of an evening at the theatre their minds meander through thoughts of farcical entertainment and a bellyful of laughs.

While Marsha Norman's Night, Mother does have its fair share of humour, a bellyful of laughs it is not, and farce is a long ways off from the stark mother-daughter reality it portrays.

This tangent from the roads of Jamaica's typical stage entertainment is as relevant, powerful and enchanting now as it was in 1983, when it won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Leonie Forbes returns to the stage after a three-year hiatus and it seems she has not been gone a day.

If you choose to watch only her for the entirety of the production, it will have been time excellently spent and, alone, well worth the cost of admission.

However, you would have then missed Makeda Solomon's portrayal of her daughter, Jessie: tortured, soul-wrenching and spot on.

The audience is hard put to choose a focal point, as both ladies bring a commanding stage presence and impeccable strength of character to the show.

The play is set in rural Jamaica and opens with Jessie's calm statement that she is going to commit suicide by the end of the night. A storm of household activity ensues as Jessie 'fixes up' one last time for her recalcitrant matriarch.

Slowly, amid the whirlwind of chores and delay tactics, the story of Jessie and Mama's lives unfolds. Their relationship becomes a tangible knot of tangled feelings in the heart of the audience.

The tale twists through the bonds of blood and love, dextrously exploring the perceived failures of life that all can relate to.

Familial ties are exhaustingly ground down to bare bones, and re-fleshed in no less painful a pattern.

The play's climax is disturbing but unavoidable. Even the most immutable stone hearts will be touched and many will leave with unashamed tears streaking their cheeks.

In short, this production of Night, Mother at the Pantry Playhouse and Dinner Threatre runs until December 17 and is a brilliant collaboration of talent and one not to be missed.