About the Play:

HARD TO FIND BOOK, only a very limited number of copies are still available.

Good Mother has become a favourite of acting teachers for Male/Male Scenes.

Good Mother is a full-length drama by Damien Atkins. What would you do if your mom suddenly wasn't your mom anymore? Good Mother is the story of a mother who loses her memory and how her family struggles to come to terms with tragedy and get on with what is left of their lives.

Good Mother is about a family whose mother loses her memory. The Driver family struggles to hold on in the wake of a stroke that robs them of a mother, leaving them to care for her as she fights to regain her memory. The story carries through a gradual recovery that has Mom's struggles to walk and talk adding even more tension to the family circle. Touching and powerful, Good Mother is a compelling drama that examines the ties that hold a family together and the crises that draw them apart.

Good Mother premiered in 2001 at the Tom Patterson Theatre in Stratford, Ontario and made Damien Atkins the youngest playwright ever to stage a brand new work at the Stratford Festival. The play went on to win the Elliott Hayes Playwright Development Award at the Stratford Festival, and also the Prism International Prize from the University of British Columbia.

Cast: 5 female, 5 male

What people say:

"An astonishing work. A singularly accomplished piece … a clear-eyed examination of a group of ordinary people coping with the process of adjustment, of survival, of learning the necessity of moving on." — Southam Newspapers

"A powerful new play … in Good Mother Atkins has created something of great beauty." — Toronto Sun

About the Playwright:

Damien Atkins is a Canadian actor and playwright. He was born in Australia, grew up in St. Albert, Alberta, and is a graduate of the theatre program at MacEwan University in Edmonton. As an actor, he has appeared on stages across Canada and the U.S. As a playwright, his plays have been produced at theatres across North America. He has been playwright-in-residence at the Canadian Stage Company, Factory Theatre, Crow's Theatre, and at the University of British Columbia. He is the recipient of four Dora Mavor Moore Awards and six additional nominations for acting and writing.