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THE BALLAD OF THE APATHETIC SON AND HIS NARCISSISTIC MOTHER

The Ballad of the Apathetic Son and his Narcissistic Mother is a high-energy performance that exposes the inherent narcissism that is at the centre of motherhood and how this becomes a burden to the child embarking on adulthood.

It is performed by Lucy and Raedie, a real life Mother and Son. Not many things connect them anymore but they both REALLY love the singer Sia. They love her music, her videos and especially her hair.  They love the way it moves in a choppy, black-on-platinum swivel. They decided to use the iconic motifs of this Australian pop superstar to make their own performance. Somehow Sia became the catalyst in examining this relationship between a son and his mother, between a Man Child and Woman, and two artists’ creating.

Touring History

24-25 February 2017, Tramway, Glasgow as part of Take Me Somewhere 2017.
21 June 2017, The Place, London.

14-26 August 2018, Summerhall, Edinburgh, as part of Made In Scotland Showcase at Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

11 May 2019, Kontrapunkt Festival, Pałac Młodzieży, Szczecin., Poland.
19-20 May 2019, EUROPEAN BÜRGERBÜHNE FESTIVAL, Kleines Haus 3 Dresden, Germany.
16-19 August 2019, Taranaki Festival, New Plymouth, New Zealand.
2- 6 Sept 2019, Sydney Fringe Touring Hub Headline Act, Australia.
5-7 March 2023 Tanzhaus nrw, Dusseldorf, Germany

PRESS

“I wish my 14 year old son had come to see this with me.”

— FRINGE REVIEW

★★★★

“Ballad is a beautiful show, and it is a messy one. Just as family relationships are messy. It is an honest one too about how parental expectation can make us think of our children as disappointments when they are simply in the process of growing up, and are often more like us at the same age than we would like to admit.”

— GUARDIAN