Queer-identifying mothers are being invited to tell their stories, which will form a new musical performance, The Queer Motherhood Project, which will première in Birmingham in September 2024.
Dr Hannah Phillips, a queer mother, theatre-maker and director of Worcestershire-based Mobilise Arts, decided she wanted to make a new show about queer motherhood in response to the Italian government taking non-biological lesbian mothers off their children's birth certificates.
Phillips said, “I was both angered and saddened by the news from the Italian government, and I want to give radical visibility to the lived experiences of a diversity of queer mothers who are often excluded from mainstream motherhood narratives.”
The Queer Motherhood Project is a collaboration between queer artists Hannah Phillips and Rachel Jones, and features a video appearance by comedian, writer and actor Jen Brister. Mobilise Arts is presenting the show in partnership with Midlands Arts Centre (MAC), DIVA magazine, Shout Festival of Queer Arts and Culture, Birmingham Pride Community Foundation, the Sir Barry Jackson Trust and Arts Council England.
Deborah Kermode, chief executive and artistic director of MAC, which will host the show, commented, “we’re thrilled to be working to support Dr Hannah Philips and Mobilise to present their ambitious new work as part of our Motherhood season, where all narratives and ideas of motherhood are legitimately and joyfully celebrated.”
Those identifying as queer mothers can share their experiences at the Mobilise Arts web site.