in defence of adventurous mothers
Praise for the company
“I loved it with all my heart. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️” – Audience Review
“Absolutely enchanting. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️” – Audience Review
“A magical experience. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️” – Audience Review
“Superbly written, skillfully directed and exquisitely performed ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️” – Everything Theatre
“An absorbing and intruiging fantasy [with] balletic direction. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️” – West End Best Friend
Winner of the 2025 VCA Playwriting Award
“I’d love to say it was Mum’s voice which rallied me on. But it wasn’t. It wasn’t even Miley Cyrus’. It was mine.”
Young Theo and Nancy are ready to conquer the world. Aged just 8 and 4, they’re the next generation of a Derbyshire climbing dynasty, with a mother who is something of a legend in the mountaineering world. They have the world at their feet, and a life of endless possibilities. Until one day, Mum doesn’t come back.
Theo and Nancy grow up in the shadow of the most adventurous of mothers. And as their life begins to take shape, they find themselves buffeted by that legacy. Will they follow in her footsteps, and leave everything on the mountain? Or will they settle for a path more frequently travelled?
Join these two siblings as they come together to share their story of risk, reward, rivalry, and destiny. Theo may have chosen to settle down, get married, have kids. Nancy may still be chasing some of the world’s highest peaks. But can they agree on the legacy their mother really left behind for them?
in defence of adventurous mothers is the VCA Playwriting Award winner 2026.
Information
Address: The Glitch, 134 Lower Marsh, London, SE1 7AE
Preview Dates: Weds 9th and Thurs 10th July
Performance Dates: Fri 11th July to Mon 4th August (closed Tuesdays)
Performance Times: 19:00 everyday except Tuesdays. 14:00 on Thursdays and Saturdays
Price: £15/£12.50
PLEASE NOTE: Given the nature of the show, LATECOMERS WILL NOT BE ADMITTED. Please arrive at least 15 minutes before your scheduled start time.
About the Writer:
Simon Marshall is a playwright, poet and writing facilitator from Derbyshire, living in Sheffield. His writing draws on themes of the rural queer experience, and sense of place, belonging and ambition. He is a former Associate Artist of Derby Theatre, and Associate Poet for Derby Poetry Festival 2024.
His queer coming of age audio play ‘kilburn (not london)’ was released on podcast networks everywhere in 2021 and has been heard worldwide, and ‘BONFIRE’ a solo show exploring the wake of online grooming had a regional tour in winter 2023. The play was called 'honest, brave and sharply funny’ by critic Lyn Gardner, and was called 'an important piece of queer theatre’ by reviewers. 'Odyssey' a VR Audio Play written with care-experienced group Plus One, went on to win The Stage Award for Digital Project of the Year 2023.
Other work includes: ‘The Fossil Kids’ for Sheffield Theatres’ Playhouse June 2023, audio short ‘Saving Mel Spencer’ for Podium.Me April 2025, and ‘Below Decadence’ at Camden People’s Theatre, April 2025.
‘in defence of adventurous mothers’ was originally developed at the North Wall Arts Centre in April 2023, seed-commissioned by Derby Theatre and had a rehearsed reading at Omnibus Theatre Jan 2025.
Crew
Director: Oli Savage
Producer: Ellie Shaw
Writer: Simon Marshall
Dramaturg: Alice Fitzgerald
With thanks to Derby Theatre and The North Wall Arts Centre