Another Single Mother
Devised, produced and directed by Christina Ford
Create London/White House
2017
Another Single Mother — Image courtesy of Indre Neiberkaite
A socio-political promenade performance exploring the stigma and stereotyping attached to being a single mother and the challenges faced when entering into employment, made in collaboration with single-parent families of Barking and Dagenham.
The work came out of a 4-month artist residency at the White House, where I built up a new community network made up of over twenty single-parent families. The performance starred a number of mothers and children from the network. Audiences were guided through the house and bear witness to the frantic, exacerbating, comical trials and tribulations of being a single mother.
I facilitated regular social activities for the group with sessions such as arts and crafts, cooking healthy on a budget and family drama workshops; providing a safe, supportive, flexible space for local single parents and their children. This was set up under the umbrella of the charity Gingerbread who campaign for and on behalf of single parent families.
The Gingerbread group continues to meet to this day and is a means to bring single-parent families together, build support networks and meet new friends. The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham support the group, providing a space to meet and connect in their Community Hubs.
Another Single Mother was performed at The White House on 1st and 2nd of June 2017.
Supported by London Borough of Barking & Dagenham, Arts Council England, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Heritage Lottery Fund, Genesis Foundation and the Foyle Foundation.
“Genius, a hilarious funny and poignant piece of work, well written, acted and staged. Such a shame there are only 4 performances, you should all be immensely proud of yourselves”
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Audience Feedback
“Very very good work Christina ford, the time flew, but so many bits of it are staying with me. Massive well done to you all, so clever to make such funny serious work, I really enjoyed”—
Audience Feedback
Links
https://www.whitehouseart.org/christina-fordhttps://createlondon.org/event/christina-ford